Talon Tantiss: Jedi Knight and Reluctant Vornskr Owner (Part 3)
by Jedi-lover
Summary: This is the 6th story following the adventures of the Tantiss Family. These are OCs, but they interact with canon characters such Ben Skywalker. If you haven't read the other five stories I don't think you will understand what's going on. This is part of the TFN Dear Diary Challenge where I have a Star Wars character (canon or OC) keep a journal for a year.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: PLEASE READ! This is a very AU story and it is Part 6 of an ongoing storyline.**

This is a continuation of last year's Dear Diary Challenge titled: _The Journal of a Very Married Talon Tantiss_. I am going to attempt to write this year's diary so everybody can understand it, but now that I have written five stories leading up to this diary, I don't know how successful I will be in doing so.

If you are interested in reading the previous stories, the first book in this series is called _Second To None_. That was a L/M love story, but it also explained the origin of Talon's father Mark Tantiss. After that fanfic I wrote _The Journal of Mark Tantiss._ This covers the time from Wayland, Byss, and the discovery of the _Eye of Palpatine_. This was followed by the fanfic _Second to None: Sacrifices_. This story has Talon as a young man and details Jacen's brush with the darkside. _The Journal of Talon Tantiss_ followed and then _The Journal of a Very Married Talon Tantiss._

If you haven't read all the stories leading up to this journal you may be hopelessly lost. To help new readers my first diary entry is usually a short recap of what has happened to the Tantiss family. You can find the links to these stories in my profile.

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 _ **46.8 ABY**_

 _ **Entry 1**_

It is the beginning of a New Standard Year and therefore the start of a new journal. I assume this diary will be read far in the future by my great, grandchildren or some historian wanting to write an unauthorized biography of one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known. Ha! That would be Luke Skywalker and I do mention him often in my journals.

In case my other journals have been lost to time I will give a brief synopsis of my life and my family up to this point.

My name is Talon Tantiss—the son of retired Jedi Master Mark Tantiss and Kira Starkos Tantiss. I am married to Zylie Karrde, the daughter of Talon Karrde and Zara Maru. I work closely with my best friend and cousin, Ben Skywalker, who is married to Zylie's older sister Valla. The Karrde sisters work in the family trade business and fly a huge Wayfarer-class medium transport cargo ship for their father's company. Over the last year Ben and I have been acting as a roving Jedi. We have our StealthX fighters stored on the freighter and are given Jedi missions in the areas we travel. Having us on the ship lets us to spend time with our wives while allowing us the freedom to work as Jedi.

Most of the galaxy believes my connection to the Skywalker family is by marriage and that my father, a redheaded giant of a man, is the brother of Mara Jade. In reality, my father was a mutated clone created by the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth. When my father was pulled out of a stasis chamber on Wayland back in 9 ABY he looked just like Luke Skywalker. Over the next few months he grew taller and more muscular. My Aunt Mara believes he was intended to become an Imperial Sentinel—a giant, muted and chemically lobotomized warrior completely subservient to the will a Dark Side Adept. Lately I have wondered about this theory. If Dad was supposed to be a brain dead sentinel then why did he get military flash training? Why did C'baoth create him and then not use my dad in defense his secret base on Wayland? I guess I may never know the answer to these questions.

My father decided he didn't want people asking him if he was related to Skywalker so he died his hair red and his irises green, the same as my Aunt Mara. He then claimed he was her long lost brother. He was one of Luke Skywalker's first Jedi students.

My father met my mother while on a mission to Byss. He rescued her from the Emperor Reborn's citadel shortly before the destruction of the Imperial planet. They have been together for thirty-five years now.

I have an older brother named Jaden who is a Jedi healer at the Temple on Coruscant. He is married to Jysella Horn, another Jedi healer, and they have a daughter named Jessa.

I don't have any children with Zylie, but I did father a child almost thirteen years ago while on a Jedi Mission. Ben and I were assigned to guard Queen Kaie of Indubar and her identical twin sister (and body double) Ema Aiti. The King of Indupar died when the queen was a two weeks pregnant. Since she was not of royal blood her child would be eventually crowned. She feared her husband's relatives might want to kill her or the baby, so she fled with her sister to Coruscant and requested the protection of the Jedi Knights. While guarding the ladies I had a brief affair with the Queen's sister, Ema. I didn't know she was pregnant when they returned to Indupar. I also didn't know the queen miscarried on the way back to their planet or that Ema traded places with her identical twin in order to put my son, Marcus, on the throne. At first I was furious at the duplicity, but I was later convinced it was in the best interest of the Indupar Crown Worlds. It wasn't until the last year or two that I have had any relationship with my son. He was officially crowned as King on his twelfth birthday. Hopefully I will now have more freedom to visit my son.

Meanwhile I have been working as a Jedi Guardian and trained Void Jumper. Most of the time I take on missions ordered by the Grand Master, but often I am loaned out to the Galactic Alliance military as a _'Jedi Asset'_. In these cases I work for the military. When I am not doing Guardian details I help out my cousin Ben in his Sentinel duties. A Jedi Sentinel is similar to a law enforcement officer. Ben loves dragging me along on difficult cases because I possess a rare Jedi talent. I am a post-cognitive. I can touch objects and tell who last held it or events tied to the object. Unfortunately, when he asks me to use this talent, he is usually handing me a weapon used to torture and kill some poor soul. I really don't like having visions of such sadistic brutality.

I think I will cut this entry short. We (Ben, Valla, Zylie and me) are going to a New Years Day party on the planet Kuat. I have been told the Kuati people know how to party. Hopefully my next entry doesn't have me complaining about a hangover.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Entry 2**_

The New Year has been very, very interesting so far.

Ben, Valla, Zylie and I decided to attend a New Year's celebration held at an upscale hotel convention hall on Kuat. It was expensive, but we hoped the hefty cover charge would keep out the riffraff. Unfortunately, this was a costume party so the ladies dragged us men to a costume shop. Ugh. I hate shopping.

We went to a warehouse store that sold costumes, uniforms and party supplies. Ben and I walked the rows and rows of costumes like two men on a bored-to-death march. I guess the ladies got tired of our whining because they pulled us to the dressing room area and had us sit down while they picked out costumes for us to try on.

Zylie was the first to return with a outfit. "This looks so sexy," she purred as she held up a package. "It is a _Savage_ costume. We have to purchase a fake sword separately, but it is sooo perfect." She hands me a very small plasto bag with a small piece of fabric inside. I tentatively reached in and pulled out a small loincloth.

"Stang!" Ben started laughing until his face was as red as his hair.

"Really, Zylie?" I stood, legs apart in a warrior stance, as I held the loincloth up in front of my crotch. I gave her a sidelong glance. "Be serious. First off, if I went to the party dressed like this I would be swarmed by women and second this is not enough fabric to contain my manly assets."

Ben snorted and began laughing again. I turned and threw the costume at him. "But it may fit my _little_ cousin."

Before he could give a scathing retort, Valla showed up with a much larger costume. "It's a Hapan Prince!" She says excitedly.

"Valla, I hate to break it to you, but your husband is not handsome enough to be a Hapan." I grabbed the costume with a smirk and checked out the sample image on the package. It showed a male model wearing tight, bun hugging purple pants, an effeminate white puffy shirt, along with a vinyl black belt and a toy blaster. I grinned at Ben. "This is perfect for you. It emphasizes your manly qualities…or lack of."

He folded his arms across his chest and glared at me. "Funny Talon. Perhaps the ladies can find something to fit your personality. Maybe you can go as a feminine hygiene product because you can be such a d…"

"Ben!" Valla warned her husband. "Be nice. We'll get you boys something you'll like instead of something we want to see you in."

"Thank you!" I said sarcastically as I picked up the tiny loincloth and shoved it back into its package. When the ladies were out of earshot I said to Ben, "We should go as Jedi."

Ben crooked a smile. "We could. That would save us a lot of money and embarrassment."

The women returned with two other costumes. Zylie handed me a light plasteel set of mandalorian armor. I liked it for a second, but then I shuddered as a horrifying childhood memory surfaced. I was eight-years-old when I woke up late one night from a bad dream. I remember rushing into my parents' bedroom only to find my father wearing boxer-briefs, a Mandalorian helmet and cape. Yuck. I don't want anything that reminds me of my parents' weird dress-up fetishes.

Ben's costume wasn't much better. It was a Wookiee get-up. I'm sure he really doesn't want to walk around in a suffocating full body costume all night. He shook his head as he handed it back to Valla. "Talon and I decided to go as Jedi Knights."

They gave us their best pouty faces, but they didn't argue. I think they were just happy that we agreed to go to the party in the first place. I turned to Ben and grinned. "Now we get to pick their costumes."

Ben's face lit up. "Oh yeah."

Zylie held up her hand. "Stop. I don't trust Talon to pick out my costume. Ben, you do it." She looked at me. "And you pick one out for my sister. This way we'll know it'll be modest."

I laughed. "Are you assuming I wouldn't want to see your sister in a sexy costume?"

 _Opps!_ That was the wrong thing to say. All three of them glared at me. "I was joking!" I turned and quickly walked down the store aisle. "I'm off to find a modest outfit. Maybe I'll find a Boushh the bounty hunter costume. That worked for Aunt Leia when she snuck into Jabba's palace. There is nothing more modest than that."

I looked through the costumes and found something perfect…perfectly inappropriate, that is. I brought it back just as Ben was returning with a costume for my wife.

Ben held out what looked like Stormtrooper armor, minus the helmet. It was basically a big-breasted white plasteel armor push-up chest piece. The lower part of the costume was knee-length skintight shorts with a small piece of white armor over the front thighs. He handed it to Zylie. "I thought you might like this. It's modest, but I think Talon will like it also."

"I love it!" Zylie snatched it up and then looked to see what I brought for her sister.

I bit my lower lip trying to contain my laugher as I pulled the costume out from behind my back. "Look what they had. A metal bikini!"

Both the ladies groaned and rolled their eyes. Ben tried to look mad but eventually started laughing. "She can wear it, but only if you pay for my therapy afterwards."

"Put it back, Talon," Valla insisted. "Get something appropriate that doesn't remind my husband of his Aunt Leia. And that means no Boushh the bounty hunter, no princess outfits and definitely no metal bikinis."

They're no fun! I eventually got Valla a sexy female Imperial officer costume that she and Ben liked.

So we are set to party tonight!

By the way, I did buy that _Savage_ costume…but that is for later when I get Zylie in our cabin alone. HA!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Entry 3**_

Party! You know, Ben and I really haven't partied much since we left Coruscant. Nowadays we are either cooped up in a freighter or on Jedi missions. We should go out on the town with our ladies more often.

Ben and I wore full Jedi robes with lightsabers while our wives were dressed like sexy Imperials. Ha! I love it. We had ID10T take a holo of us before we left. The ladies did look enticing. I told Zylie, "Aren't you a little sexy for a Stormtrooper."

As we entered the party our ears were immediately assaulted by loud techno music. Its high-energy rhythmic beats were synchronized to dazzling strobe lights that filled the darkened room with a fantastic light show. There was a large dance floor at the center of the room where dozens of partygoers danced; most wore glowing gloves or self-illuminating body gel and little else. I suddenly felt over dressed among the scantily clothed attendees.

Zylie turned to me and shouted over the music. "See, the Savage outfit would have been fine here."

I watched a group of young ladies dressed as pleasure slaves walk past me clad in sheer Lashaa silk and Jerba leather. "I see that."

Zylie punched my shoulder and I had to smile. "Admit it, you're glad I didn't wear the loincloth."

Her face pinched together trying to hid a smile. Eventually she laughed. "You're right. I don't want other women ogling over you while we dance."

"Speaking of dancing," Valla shouted to be heard. "Lets find a table and then get on the dance floor."

We elbowed our way to one of the few available tables located far from the MC's sound amplification system. That was fine with me. At least we could hear each other without screaming. We sat down and ordered drinks from the table's computerized menu touchpad.

"Shall we dance?" Ben smiled as he offered Valla his hand. She stood, her eyes never leaving his as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the mouth. It wasn't a lingering kiss, but it was long enough to get my cousin blushing.

"Get a room!" I joked.

Ben flashed me the smuggest grin. "We probably will before the night is over." He wrapped his arm around his wife and guided her to the dance floor.

Zylie looked to me. "Aren't we going to dance?"

I shrugged. "Let's get a drink into me first. You know I dance like See-Threepio when I'm not relaxed."

"Fine." She gave a slight roll of her eyes before she changed the drink order to add a _Flame-out_ —the strongest alcoholic drink that a licensed establishment could sell.

I gave her a shake of my head. "Zylie, that has spice in it."

She grinned. "I know, I am hoping to get you drunk and get lucky tonight."

"You don't have to get me drunk for that." I smirked. "You're always lucky to have me."

"Ohhh," she moaned with a hint of teasing in her voice. "You are so vain."

I chuckled. "Zylie, I only have eyes for you." Ironically, at that very moment three young ladies caught my eye. I gave Zylie a nudge. "We have more Jedi Knights."

Zylie looked in the direction I indicated and burst out laughing. "Are you sure those aren't Jedi Lap Dancers."

I had to grin at their costumes. All three women wore Jedi tunics, but it appeared they either forgot the trousers or they could only afford half a costume. The tunics didn't even reach mid-thigh and barely concealed their thong-covered bottoms. They also had strange looking lightsaber replicas hanging from leather black belts. I stared at the bogus weapons, trying to focus in the dim light. "Those are toy lightsabers they are wearing, right?"

Zylie gazed at the women for a moment before she blushed. "Those are toys, but not lightsabers." She burst out in hysterical laughter before she started coughing and hyperventilating. Unfortunately she only brought attention to us. The ladies looked over to me and then whispered something to each other before bouncing over in my direction. "Kriff! They must have heard us, Zylie. They're coming over here."

"Oh my stars!" One buxom blond said to me while pointing at my Jedi robes. "We must have shopped at the same place." She turned to her equally blond friends. "We're Jedi too!"

These women were young, probably just over the eighteen-year-old drinking age. "Yep, we're all Jedi. " I somehow managed to say that with a straight face while their phallic shaped lightsabers practically swung in my face.

One of the women with a plunging neckline leaned closer to me, scrutinizing my face before she hopped up and down with a shriek. "I know you!" She turned to her friends. "Do you remember that boring holonet news report our professor had us watch about the fighting on Treemar?" She pointed to me. "This is the Jedi in that story!"

"A real Jedi!" the other Jedi impersonators squealed. One woman with platinum blond hair looked at me earnestly. "We are the biggest Jedi fangirls in the galaxy!"

"Thank you," I muttered while stealing a glance to Zylie. Her eyes narrowed and I could feel her irritation through the Force. "Well, uh, have fun at the party," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Before we go, can you answer a couple questions we have about the Jedi?"

I groaned inwardly. Usually these questions involved Force-enhanced sex or Force-enhanced foreplay. I shook my head. "I really want to get up on the dance floor with my _wife_." I emphasized my marital status hoping these women would take a hint and go away…of course, they didn't.

"Pleasssseee!" The three women begged in unison.

I blew out a frustrated breath. "Okay, one question."

There was another squeak of delight before the women huddled together to come up with the one Jedi question that their curious Jedi Fangirl brains absolutely needed answering. They turned back to me and said, "Do you know Ben Skywalker?"

My jaw dropped and I could see Zylie struggling to keep a straight face. I was going to lie and tell them no, but Zylie chimed in. "Yes he knows him. They used to be roommates at the Jedi Temple."

That announcement was rewarded with more ethusiastic shouts and then a steady barrage of questions.

"Oh my stars, is it true that he is one of the strongest Jedi?"  
"I heard he has a great sense of humor!"  
"And that he has the highest Intelligent Quota of all the Knights!"  
"He can see the future."  
"And the past!"  
"He's really fun to be around."  
"He's unbeaten with a lightsaber and is a master of hand-to-hand combat."  
"And he's a generous lover."  
"And soooo incredibly sexy," another added.

Zylie had her hand covering her face as she tried, but failed, to hide her amusement.

"I wouldn't know about the last two," I commented dryly. "That you would have to ask _his wife_."

The three women gave pouty expressions. "We heard he was married."

"We were crushed," one of them moaned while holding her hands over her broken heart.

"I could have been the next Mrs. Skywalker," the platinum blond said dreamily.

"I just wanted to meet him." The woman with the cleavage whispered.

I grinned. "Well, you are in luck ladies. He's here!"

Zylie gave me a warning glare that I completely ignored. I pointed to the dance floor. The song had ended and my cousin was now headed towards the bar while Valla walked to the ladies' 'fresher. "He's right there at the bar. You should go up and say hello. He loves meeting his fans."

The three women sent out another earsplitting squeal before they ran across the dance floor towards Ben.

"Get jealous much?" Zylie asked.

I chuckled. "Please, this is payback for letting his parents know we got stuck in the cockpit of my StealthX during our impromptu romantic rendezvous."

A slight smile tugged on her lips. "They did tease us unmercifully about that one."

"Anyway, how bad can it be meeting three fangirls?" I looked over to where the three women had surrounded Ben. One of the ladies pulled out a permanent marker from her pocket and it looked like they wanted Ben to autograph their tunics. At least, that is what I thought they were going to ask until they pulled down their tunics to expose the top of their breasts. "Oh kriff! They want him to sign their breasts."

Zylie shook her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "And here comes my sister out of the 'fresher."

I grimaced as I saw my sister-in-law glare at Ben and his little entourage of fangirl groupies. My cousin didn't miss a beat. He took the hand of one of the women and signed his name on the inside of her forearm and offered to do the same for the other ladies.

I blew out a breath. "See, emergency averted. We won't get blamed. He'll just think they spotted him like they spotted me."

Zylie sighed deeply. "Think again Jedi-boy."

I looked back to find the ladies talking to Ben before pointing in my direction. I flinched before I realized ducking under the table was not a viable option. I instead gave Ben a sheepish smile as he glared at me.

"You are so dead," Zylie said with a chuckle.

"You are so right," I groaned.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Entry 4**_

After Ben signed the ladies' forearms they skipped off happily. I overheard one of them saying, "I'm going to a tattoo parlor and have his signature permanently etched on my body!" That was followed with enthusiastic howl of approval from her friends.

Valla looked a bit pissed when she walked up to Ben. My cousin said a few words to his wife before he pointed to me. She then turned and glared in my direction.

"Dead, dead, dead," I heard Zylie whisper and then chuckle.

My cousin and sister-in-law stalked over to our table and sat down across from me. I was expecting Ben to start yelling but he just shook his head sadly and said to Zylie. "You have my deepest condolences for the future death of your husband."

Zylie grinned as she pretended to wipe fake tears from her face. "Thank you Ben, but the title ' _The widow Tantiss'_ does have an exotic ring to it. I'm sure I'll find love again and move on." She then burst out laughing as I just sat there with a forced smile on my face.

Ben gave me a disapproving scowl. "Talon, sometimes I think you are trying to turn me to the darkside."

"Sorry," I said lamely.

"Ben, don't be mad," Zylie said with a smirk. "Talon got the short end of the deal in this situation."

I groaned knowing Zylie was going to reveal all. I reached over and put my hand on her arm signaling for her to stop talking. "Zylie, there's no need to go into details." I looked back to Ben and gave him my best apologetic look. "I'm sorry for sending those women over to see you. I apologize and will do anything to make amends."

Ben's lips curled up at the corners. "Okay, when we get back you need to give Princess a bath."

I made a face. "Please, anything but that. You know that vornskr hates me."

Ben shook his head. "No, a bath and I'll call us even."

I sighed deeply. "Fine."

"Good." He turned to Zylie. "Now how about those details?"

"Hey! Not having the details was part of the deal!

Ben raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "I don't remember making that promise." He turned to Zylie and smiled. "Go ahead Zylie, how exactly did Talon come out on the short end of the deal?"

And so the whole story came out. I forgot that Zylie has a very, very good memory. She recalled almost exactly what those women said verbatim. At the end of the story both Valla and Ben were in near hysterics.

Valla caught her breath and put a hand out to pat her sister's arm in a consoling manner. "I hope you don't feel too jealous that I got the sexist warrior within the Jedi order."

Zylie was trying not to laugh but wasn't succeeding. "I'm getting used to slumming."

"Ha, ha! Funny guys." I looked around the table. "Where are our drinks?" I punched at the touch screen built into the tabletop and ended up getting an error message. "The damn ordering system is malfunctioning."

Ben stood. "I'll go up to the bar and order." He gave me a wink. "It's a female bartender, maybe she'll give me the drinks for free due to my incredible sexiness." He then laughed and strutted off.

I turned to Zylie. "You just had to tell him. Now he's going to get a big head over this."

She rolled her eyes. "Vanity is not one of Ben's many virtues." She smirked. "Besides, you deserved to be embarrassed. That was mean what you did."

Valla grinned at me. "Payback is a pain in the rear."

"Since I already got my payback, I shouldn't have to give Princess a bath." I folded my arms across my chest defiantly. "She just got a bath last week. Why does she need another one?"

"She sick. We think she got into the trash and ate some rotten food," Zylie explained. "She threw up."

"And then she rolled around in her own vomit," Valla continued.

"Oh, hell no!" I shook my head. "No, no, no way!"

Valla grinned ear-to-ear. "Someone has to do it, Talon."

I grimaced at the thought of bathing a spew-covered vornskr…especially one that hates me and will take any chance to bite me in the groin. I needed a drink.

"Where's Ben with our drinks?" I looked down the bar but didn't see him. After a few seconds I spied someone in Jedi robes out on the dance floor. It was Ben dancing with a young woman. My jaw dropped in surprise. It was not odd for women to ask my cousin to dance, but since he and Valla became an item he has steadfastly refused all dance offers. I now started to wonder if he really did get a touch of egotism over how those three young girls gushed over him. I guess the ladies saw me gawking at the dance floor and turned to see what I was staring at.

I heard Valla gasp when she saw Ben slow dancing with a sexy brunette. "Is that Ben?"

I was about to respond, but was rendered silent when Ben leaned in and gave the woman in his arms a long, sensual kiss.

 _What the hell?_

I stood and stared at my cousin slack jawed, unable to believe what I was seeing. I felt like I had dropped into some bizarre alternate dimension where my best friend had just turned into some evil, cheating, sleemo clone. I was vaguely aware of Valla crying while Zylie reassured her sister that it must be a mistake. I found myself incapable of looking away. I wanted to comfort my sister-in-law or rush over and punch Ben, but all I could do was stand there shocked and overwhelmed by a sick, sinking pain in my gut. Eventually Zylie punched my shoulder pulling me out of my stupor. "I'm going to follow Valla. You get Ben."

"What?" I muttered hoarsely before I turned and spotted Valla leaving the club with Zylie following close behind. I stared at Ben for a few more seconds before I pushed my way onto the dance floor. When I got to my cousin he was in a full lip lock with this strange woman. I wedged my hands between the two and pulled them apart. I turned to Ben. "What the hell are you doing?"

He looked at me strangely before laughing. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"What _is_ wrong with you?" I hissed through clenched teeth. "Why are you doing this?"

Ben's voice took on a mocking tone. "Talon, I didn't know you would get so upset about public displays of affection." He grinned smugly before turning to the woman and winking at her. "Perhaps Talon's right. We should take this somewhere private." He turned back to me. "Earlier you told me to get a room. I guess I should do that."

I glared at him as I felt the anger building up inside me. "There is no way I'm going to let you leave here with a Temple-yummy!" Ben's eyes narrowed at my use of that derogatory term. It was a word Valin Horn often used to describe female Jedi groupies who hung outside the temple hoping to hook up with Jedi Knights.

Before Ben could respond the young lady grabbed his hand and tried to pull him off the dance floor. "Come on lover. Let's get out of here."

I stepped between the two and unlinked their hands forcefully, that's when I had a vision…possibly a post-cognitive vision of things that already happened. I saw this woman luring men, one at a time, into her apartment. The men looked happy, even euphoric while in her company, but they also experienced premature aging. Within weeks their hair went gray, wrinkles developed, and the ravages of aged wracked their body until they died as fragile old men.

I gasped audibly as I gazed at her wide-eyed. "Mind-witch!" I whispered. I have heard of them, but I never thought I would ever meet one of these life-force sucking leaches.

"Let me go!" She screamed in near hysterics. "You're hurting me." She pulled her arm out of my grip and tried to flee, but there was no way I was going to let somebody so dangerous get away. I lunged after her, reaching for her shoulder but only succeeded in snatching a fist full of her shoulder length hair. She screamed as I pulled her back roughly, preventing her from leaving.

"Get this maniac off me!" A few people on the dance floor turned in our direction but the music had changed to a loud, pounding beat drowning out her screams. Still we were attracting attention and I hoped nobody jumped in to help her. She grabbed her own hair in her hand and tried to yank it out of my grip, but I held tight. Ben was pulling at my shoulder while demanding that I leave her alone. The woman whipped her head around and gazed into my eyes. At that moment she morphed into an image of Zylie. It was so realistic I almost let her go…almost. I instead tightened my grip. "You're not going anywhere!"

I turned back to Ben to explain to him what was going on when I felt intense jolting pain in my jaw. I lost my grip of the woman as I fell to the ground. The dance participants pulled away from us, some gasped in shock while others encouraged Ben to hit me again. The music ceased and someone could be heard calling for security. I reached my hand up to cup my jaw. It was quickly swelling and I could taste blood from a split lip. I knew Ben could throw a punch, but I have never before been a recipient of his anger. "Talon! Stop! Have you gone insane!" He looked up to the woman. "Valla, get out of here!"

"Valla?" I tried to stand, but my head was still spinning from being coldcocked by my irate cousin. "That's not Valla, Ben!" I searched the dance floor and caught a glimpse of her as she escaped out the emergency exit. I scrambled to my feet and gave chase. I heard Ben call out to me as I burst through the door and ran down a dark alley. The woman was up ahead running at a speed I didn't think possible in heels. I almost caught up to her when I was tackled from behind. I landed on the ground hard and whacking the side of my head on the duracrete. Ben scrambled up to my shoulders and pressed his knee between my shoulder blades to restrain me.

"What the kriff is wrong with you Talon! Are you on spice!"

I lifted my head enough to see the woman reached the main thoroughfare and hail a taxi. I wasn't going to catch her tonight. I lowered my head down to the pavement and sighed. "Ben, that wasn't Valla."

"Talon, I think I know my own wife."

" I know you think that was Valla, but it wasn't. It was a mind-witch. Valla left the club with Zylie after she saw you kissing that woman. You saw an illusion!"

"What?" Ben shook his head. "Mind-witches are extinct."

"That's what your dad thought before he was nearly killed by one." I squirmed under my cousin's weight. "Ben, can you let me up? I surrender." When he didn't move I tried to reason with him. "Ben, either I am telling the truth or I have gone completely barvy. Either way you can verify it by contacting Valla on your comlink. If she said I attacked her on the dance floor I will voluntarily check myself into the local psychiatric ward for evaluation."

Ben got off my back and stood. I turned over and motioned to his pocket. "Go ahead call Valla. She'll tell you she wasn't the one sucking your face on the dance floor."

Ben stared at me for a long moment before he reached into his Jedi robes and pulled out his comlink. He keyed it and listened for a moment. "She's not answering."

"Call Zylie, then!"

He hesitated for a moment before keying my wife's comlink number. "Zylie? It's Ben. Is Valla…" That was all he got out before I heard Zylie shouting at him over the line. The blood drained from his face as his expression went from confusion to one of sheer panic. "Zylie…wait…I know…let me…just let me talk to her…I…no, no. No Zylie, I…" He then stopped and gazed down at his comlink. "She hung up. " His voice was shaky as he ran a hand over his face . "Oh kriff!" He reached down and pulled me to my feet. "Let's get back to the _Vazy Princess."_

I shook my head. "We have to go after the Mind-Witch before she hurts somebody else. She's dangerous."

"No, we have to go," Ben insisted. "Zylie said Valla is threatening to leave when they got to the ship!"

"Oh no." I tried to keep up with Ben as we rushed down the alley, but the pain in my head was incredible. I reached up and realized I was bleeding from a cut above my eye, which I probably got when my head made contact with the duracrete."Damn Ben, I guess you have earned your reputation as the best Jedi at hand-to-hand combat."

Ben slowed down and waited for me to catch up "Sorry Talon. I didn't…I didn't know what was happening. I thought you were attacking Valla. I was confused. I had to stop you."

"Don't worry about me. You've got bigger problems. We need to get to Valla." We flagged down an airtaxi and climbed inside. I kept trying to get ahold of Zylie on my comlink but she wasn't answering. I felt so sorry for Ben. Until we clear up this confusion he is going to have to face two very irate Karrde women…and those are two ladies I would never want to piss off.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Entry 5**_

On the ride to the ship Ben was having a major panic attack. Every two seconds he tried to call either his wife or mine with no success. His hands shook, his right leg nervously bounced up and down and he started to hyperventilate.

"She's going to divorce me, Talon." He ran his hands through his red mop of hair as he dropped his head back against the headrest. "She's going to first kill me and then divorce me."

"Noooo!" I reassured him. "You can't divorce a dead man."

"Not funny Talon."

I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "She loves you. She's not going to divorce you…especially when you didn't do anything wrong."

"I kissed another woman!"

"Yeah, but that was an accident. We'll clear this up."

He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. "I can't believe she'd think I would cheat on her."

I scoffed. "Ben, let me give you some advice. When dealing with pissed off women, don't try to make yourself the victim…even if you _are_ the victim. That never goes over well. Believe me…I know." I gave his shoulder a shake so he would look me in the eye. "Valla has every right to believe you would cheat on her because she _saw_ you cheating on her. She can't disregard what she saw with her own eyes. So don't be upset with her."

Ben shook his head sadly. "I just thought she would know me better and give me time to explain."

"Ohhhhh," I said in my best sarcastic voice. "Like you gave me time to explain why I was pulling the hair of the woman you thought was Valla before you almost broke my jaw? I would never hurt Valla. Don't you know me better than that?!"

Ben closed his eyes and groaned. "You're right. When you see something happening in front of your eyes, you just react." He turned and looked at me before grimacing. "You look terrible. I'm sorry."

I put a hand over my bruised and bloodied cheek and sighed. "It's nothing bacta won't fix."

The taxi pulled into the spaceport and I was relieved to see the _Vazy Princess_ exactly where we left it. As we walked to the ship, I pushed a button on my ramp remote key causing the gangway to slowly drop down. Ben ran up the ramp as fast as he could with me following close behind. Zylie—still wearing her sexy Stormtrooper costume—was standing in front of Ben's cabin door blocking the way. "Hold up!" She grabbed his shoulders keeping him from approaching further. "She doesn't want to see you!"

Ben brushed by Zylie to enter his cabin.

"Don't go in there, Ben. She's way too mad to talk."

Ben didn't listen to Zylie's warning. He opened his cabin door and was greeted by a snarling, barf-covered vornskr. Princess lunged at Ben, her large white teeth snapping, as drool dripped down her chin.

I have never seen Princess act that way with anybody other than me. Wow, that got Ben backpedaling out of the doorway. Luckily for him Zylie grabbed the vornskr by the collar and yanked the monster back. She restrained the animal until her sister came out of the room, grabbed the collar and pulled the beast back into the cabin…but not before giving Ben an angry glare. Damn, I am so glad that mind-witch didn't put her sights on me.

Zylie closed the door and turned her attention back to us. "She doesn't want to see you Ben.

Ben looked grief-stricken. "I need to talk to her. She needs to understand that I would never cheat on her."

Zylie scowled as she folded her arms across her chest. "Ben, Valla and I both saw what happened on that dance floor."

"It was an accident!"

Zylie scoffed at that pathetic excuse. "You accidentally shoved your tongue down another woman's throat."

Ben looked over to me for support. "Tell her Talon."

I think that was the first time Zylie saw me clearly because her hand flew up to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "Talon! Your face!"

She moved up to me, eyes wide in disbelief. "Who did this to you?"

I gave her a sheepish look as I made a furtive glance to my cousin. "I…um…just had a little accident."

Her mouth shut and I could see her jaw clench in rage as she slowly turned to Ben. "Did you do this to him?"

Ben's head dropped and I could see his face flush in shame. "It was …a mistake. I didn't mean to hurt him."

"I'm getting Princess!"

She took a step toward the cabin and I wasn't sure if she was serious or not. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. "Zylie, it was an accident. All of this is a horrible misunderstanding." She struggled in my grip and I could feel her anger roll off her in waves. "Please Zylie. Let me explain."

"Fine, explain." She relaxed in my arms and I released her.

"Zylie, the woman we saw was a mind-witch. She can make a person…even a Jedi…experience an illusion. Ben saw her as Valla and when I pushed her away from him she made me think she was you. She looked just like you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Ben's stronger than you in the Force. How come you weren't fooled?"

I wanted to disagree with that belief, but I didn't want to get into an argument about who is the stronger Jedi. "Because when I grabbed her she wasn't you and then she became you. That was my clue that I might be seeing an illusion." I shook my head in frustration. "Ben didn't expect anything. This woman came up to him on the dance floor looking like Valla. He had no reason to believe it wasn't his wife. With me, I saw her morph into you…that's why I knew it wasn't you."

"Zylie," Ben put a hand on her shoulder. "Please talk to Valla for me. Explain what happened so she'll talk to me."

"A Mind-witch?" She shook her head. "I won't be able to answer her questions about this Force stuff." She turned to me. "Talon, you go in and talk to her."

I blew out a thankful breath. "Okay, but put Princess in her kennel. She hates me almost as much as she now hates Ben." I threw my hands out wide. "And I don't know why. I've never cheated."

"Talon! Neither did I!" Ben pointed out.

"I know, I know." I turned back to Zylie. "I'm not going in there until the vornskr is out."

"Okay." She glanced at Ben. "Hide in the 'fresher until I get her in her cage. I don't know if I can hold her back again."

Ben nodded and went over to the 'fresher where he locked himself inside. Once he was safely behind closed doors Zylie went to the cabin, talked to her sister for a minute, before she dragged a snarling vornskr out of her sister's room. "All clear," she said to me.

I poked my head through the cabin doorway. Inside Valla was sitting on her bed with her knees pulled up under her chin. She was still wearing her costume, making her look like a very sad Imperial officer. Her face was red and puffy from crying as she continued to sob softly. She looked up at me and gasped. "Talon, what happened to your face?"

I brought my hand up to my jaw before making a dismissive gesture. "It's nothing. I need to talk to you about Ben."

"Don't help him lie!" Valla said sharply. "I saw what he did with my own eyes."

I walked over and sat at the edge of the bed. "Valla, that woman was a mind-witch. It's a Force-user that specializes in mind tricks. They can entrap people by creating an illusion. Once they get you alone they keep you trapped by the illusion as they drain you of your life essence. They're like Anzats or Energy Vampires…except they don't have to bite a person to suck out your Force energies."

Valla gave me such an utter look of disbelief that I almost laughed. I have to admit, it did sound ridiculous. "It's true."

She gave a contentious snort. "I supposed she was trying to suck his life essence out through his mouth?"

A nervous grin crossed my face. I knew this was not going well. "I'm fairly sure close proximity is the only requirement."

She rolled her eyes. "Please. You and Ben are like brothers. You'd say anything to cover for him."

"And risk infuriating Zylie? No way!" I stood and put my hands over my heart in a solemn gesture. "I swear to you Valla. If it came down to upsetting Zylie or throwing my cousin under a speeder bus, Ben is going down. I would never do anything that would cause me to end up on Zylie's bad side. I love her too much."

A slight smile formed on Valla's face. "That is so sweet of you, Talon."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "It's true. If it came down to Ben or my marriage, I would screw Ben over in a heart beat." Gods, that sounded awful, but it's true to a certain extent. I'd die for Ben, but I would never lie for him to cover an affair.

Her eyes dropped as she sniffled sadly. "I wish Ben was more like you."

"He is!" I said adamantly as I pointed to my face. "He did this to me. When I grabbed the mind-witch he thought I was hurting you…so he beat me senseless." I brought my hand up to my bruised face. "He just about broke my jaw! To be honest, if he actually threw me under a speeder bus it probably would have hurt less." I paused dramatically. "He beat me to a pulp, his cousin who is like a brother to him, because he thought he was protecting you."

Valla's lips trembled as tears flowed down her cheeks. "He did that for me?"

I gave her a forced smile. "He thought I was hurting you. He loves you so much he was willing to beat the snot out of me before giving me a chance to explain."

Valla started sobbing again. "That's so romantic."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "He's truly a man in love. A passionate man with a wicked right hook."

She chuckled softly while wiping tears from her eyes. "Was it really a mind-witch?"

"Definitely! When I grabbed her she morphed into an image of Zylie right in front of my eyes. If I didn't happen to see it at the time, I would have been fooled. Even the Grand Master was tricked by a mind-witch when he was young. They are convincing and extremely dangerous." I waited for her to respond, but she remained silent. "Valla, Ben would never ever do anything purposely to hurt you. Please talk to him. He's a mess. He's scared of losing you. Give him a chance to explain."

She snuffled before nodded her head. "Okay. Send him in."

I grinned broadly. "Thanks."

As I walked to the door she called out,"Talon." I turned to her. "Thanks for being such a good friend."

I grinned. "We're more than friends. We're family."

I left the cabin hopeful for the future…and hoping that this would get me out of giving Princess a bath.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Entry 6**_

I exited Valla's cabin and found Ben outside pacing the corridor. He looked to me anxiously. "What did she say?"

I threw a thumb in the direction of their cabin. "She'll talk to you."

He closed his eyes and blew out a relieved breath. "Thank you Talon." He rushed past me to talk to his wife.

Zylie came up to me wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing the side of her face to my chest. "Thanks for talking to Valla. She was heartbroken. I got the chance to talk to Ben while you were in the cabin and he is sick to his stomach with worry."

I embraced Zylie as I pulled in a shuttering breath. "I never, ever, want to go through something like that again. I'd rather face a Rancor than deal with such nasty emotional drama."

She pulled back so she could look up at me. "You look like you fought a Rancor."

I gave her a lopsided grin. "You should see the other guy."

"You mean the cute redhead that didn't have a mark on him?"

"I didn't want to hurt the little guy." I joked as I detangled from Zylie's embrace. "Maybe I should see 2-1B and have him patch me up."

I went to see our medical droid. I needed a couple stitches for my forehead and some bacta cream. 2-1B did a brain scan to see if I had a concussion. He also X-rayed my head to make sure I didn't have any fractures. It turns out my jaw was slightly dislocated. The droid manipulated my jaw until he was satisfied it was now in the proper position.

When I exited the small medical bay I went back to my room to lay down. I must have fell asleep because I woke up at a knock at my door. I propped myself up on my elbow. "Come in."

Ben walked in looking much calmer than he was when we arrived. "Thanks Talon…for everything."

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "Is everything okay?"

Ben gave a slight shrug of his shoulder. "I think I'm more upset with myself than she is at the moment." He pulled out a chair from my desk and sat down. "Are you sure it was a mind-witch?"

I nodded. "It couldn't be a clawdite or Shi'ido, otherwise I would have seen her as Valla also. Plus I had a post-cognitive vision of her draining men of their life-Force. She's a serial killer. We need to find her."

He nodded. "We do, but I'd like to get my father involved in this. He's dealt with a mind-witch before."

"Agreed." I stood and motioned for Ben to follow. "Let's get on the ship's transceiver and give the Grand Master a call."

When we entered the flight deck ID10T turned toward us. "Master Tantiss, may I enquire as to how you became injured?"

"I had to fight off twenty swoop gang members, Ten-Tee."

"I see, Sir. You do not wish to disclose how you were wounded."

I glared at the droid. "You don't think I could fight off twenty men?"

I droid remained silent for a moment. "Indeed I do sir, but your answer caused Master Skywalker to make an expression of incredulity which indicated to me duplicity on your part."

"I hit him, Ten-Tee," Ben admitted.

"Understandable, Sir."

 _Understandable?_ "What?"

Ben nudged my shoulder. "Let's make that call."

I glared at the droid before sitting down in front of the transceiver/communications unit. Ben punched in the code for his father's quarters and pushed the send button. After a minute of static my old Master's face filled the screen. Mara Jade Skywalker was getting up there in the years, but she was still a beautiful woman with greying red hair and piercing green eyes. She smiled when she saw Ben, but her expression morphed into one of concern when she saw my bruised face. "Talon, what happened?"

My eyes narrowed in a look of mock annoyance. "Your son hit me."

She looked to Ben and then to me. "Should I even ask what the fight was about?"

Ben ran a hand through his hair. "That's what we're calling about. We had a run in with a mind-witch. She caused me to think Talon was hurting Valla…so I hit him."

A slender eyebrow rose inquisitively. "A mind-witch? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I had a post-cognitive vision of her killing men."

"We'd like dad's help in catching her."

Mara nodded before sitting back in what looked like a desk chair. "That's a good idea. We'll both come out to help. Send me your coordinates."

We sent my former master the coordinates and I left to allow Ben time to talk to his mother alone. Zylie was in the galley sipping caf with her sister who still looked shaken by today's events. I was going to sit down to talk to her, but Zylie signaled me to keep walking. I guess they are doing girl talk. That's okay; I need to sleep off this migraine I'm developing.

* * *

 _ **Entry 7**_

We are expecting my aunt and uncle to arrive on Kuat tomorrow. I haven't seen much of Ben or Valla in the last two days and I was beginning to worry. I found Zylie in the galley drinking caf and asked her if everything was alright with her sister and Ben.

She looked up from her drink and rolled her eyes. "Yes. They'll be fine. I think the phase they are going through is called hysterical bonding."

I sat down at the table and chuckled. "Hysterical what?"

"Bonding. I learned about it in my psychology college class. When there is a perceived threat to a marriage the couple might try to reclaim their relationship by having long durations of sexual activity."

"What?" I looked at my cousin's cabin door. "Are you sure they aren't in there talking?"

Zylie scoffed. "You're the Jedi. Why don't you Force-peek?"

I was tempted, just to prove Zylie wrong, but then thought better of it. When it comes to Zylie, I have learned she is usually right. "I'm glad they are getting along." I got up and poured myself a cup of caf before returning to my seat. "Luke and Mara will be here tomorrow."

"We need to give Princess her bath before they get here," Zylie said matter-of-factly. "She stinks."

I grimaced. "I think I deserve a pass from bathing duties. Let Ben do it. He got his revenge on me when he beat me up."

Zylie gulped the last of her drink and stood. "Ben and Valla need time alone and I don't think Princess is going to let Ben near her anytime soon." She turned and moved toward the cargo entrance where Princess was housed. "I'll do it myself if you're not going to help me."

I groaned, but stood and followed her. "If I help you give her a bath can we do some hysterical bonding later on?"

She turned with a smile as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'll give you some wild and frenzied manic bonding."

I grinned. "That sounds good to me."

We entered the cargo area where Princess laid in her cage looking miserable, but she managed to give me a low warning growl when I came near. My nose wrinkled as I caught a whiff of her. "Yuck! She smells rancid."

"I know," Zylie said sadly. "My poor little girl is sick." I let Zylie reach through the kennel bars and put the leash on her collar. She then let the vonrskr out of the cage and guided her over to an area with floor drain. She tied the vicious animal to a wall hook especially installed for this task.

I grimaced at the sight of clumps of vomit on the vornskr's coarse hair. I don't like the animal but for Zylie's sake I hoped Princess wasn't seriously ill. I don't know if we could find a veterinarian who knows how to treat such an exotic animal. "Let's get you cleaned up, Princess."

I picked up the water hose and turned it on while Zylie grabbed the pet shampoo from a storage cabinet. I stood out of biting range as I sprayed the water on the animal. Zylie dumped a generous amount of shampoo on Princess and started to rub it into her fur.

She frowned as she tried to work out the mats in the animal's coat. "I'm going have to cut out some of this matted hair." She gave me an apologetic look. "You're going to have to hold her. She doesn't like the scissors."

"Oh sure," I scoffed sarcastically. " _' Hey Talon, will you please hold onto this psychotic Force hating predator while I walk toward her with a pair of scissors that she hates'_." I rolled my eyes for emphasis but Zylie just shook her head.

"It will take less than a minute. Just hold her collar."

I let out a frustrated breath, but turned off the water and slowly approached the animal. To my surprise she let me grab hold of her collar with only an evil glare. The smell of vomit was overwhelming. I guess Princess is too sick to her stomach to attack me today. As I knelt down next to her I noticed something odd about her belly. I looked underneath the animal and saw bumps along her abdomen. After further examination I realized they were her teats. I've never seen them this extended before. It was like she was…pregnant. At that moment I remember how my father-in-law's male vornskr had gotten loose and mounted Princess a few weeks ago. "Oh, this is just great," I muttered as I reached under her belly to verify what I thought I was seeing. And at that very moment I learned something very important—pregnant vonskrs don't like their bellies touched.

She growled and jerked her head so hard that the leash snapped. She lunged at me capturing my forearm in between her sharp bone-crushing teeth. I know I could probably kill this animal with the use of the Force, but I just couldn't do that to my wife's pet…especially knowing the animal is pregnant. I called out for Zylie.

"Get her off me!"

Zylie grabbed the collar and tried to pull the animal away from me, but the just made the Vornskr bite down harder. At this time blood is gushing from my arm. Ben must have heard Zylie's screams because he ran into the cargo bay wearing only boxers and carrying a blaster. When he took aim on the animal I think everybody was surprised when I yelled. "Don't hurt her! She's pregnant!"

At this point Ben looked flustered, not knowing what to do. "Try to lull her to sleep," he called to me.

I thought that was the most asinine thing I have ever heard, but then I remembered my father had this Force ability. Unfortunately, I don't know if I have this particular talent, and if I did, I don't know if I can concentrate well enough to pull it off. I put my free hand on Princess' head and used the Force to send soothing thoughts to her. I was getting dizzy and I was fairly certain I would pass out from blood loss before this snarling beast would give up the chance to eat me.

Ben came up next to me and put his hand on the Vornskr's head trying to help. I sure hope his presence doesn't piss her off more so she goes for my groin. Fortunately it appeared to help. The pressure on my arm eased and eventually Princess' eyes drooped. Ben grabbed her as she drifted off to sleep and set her down on the deck. He then pulled me off the floor with my good arm and rushed me to the medical bay.

"What is it with the people on this ship attacking me?" I moaned.

"Sorry Talon. I should have never have asked you to bathe her." Ben got me to our medical droid 2-1B and explained the situation. Valla came into the infirmary, blanched at the sight of blood, and quickly left. It looked like she was going to vomit. Maybe she's pregnant also. It's possible, after all they got in enough hysterical bonding in the last couple days.

As the droid cleaned my wound and stitched me up I turned and glared at Ben and Zylie. "I am not bathing that vornskr ever again. Never!"

Zylie came up to me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry Talon. I didn't know she was pregnant."

"Of course not. Just because she is irritable and vomiting from possible morning sickness just weeks after getting sexually assaulted by your father's hypersexual male vornskr. Why would we suspect?"

"I'm so sorry." Zylie had tears in her eyes. "Do you want me to get rid of her?"

Gods, I wanted to say YES, but I can't do that to Zylie. She had the animal since she was twelve. "No." I grimaced as the droid sprayed some painful antiseptic on my arm. "But your father takes the litter off our hands. One Vornskr is enough!"

Zylie grinned happily as she stood on her toes and kissed me on the lips. "I love you."

"Yeah, I…OWWWW!" I said as the droid jabbed me with a needle full of something. He then placed a bacta patch on my arm before bandaging it up.

"Okay," Ben said as he patted my shoulder. "I'll let you get back to bathing Princess."

I scowled at my cousin. "If it wasn't for the fact that I know you can kick my butt…I would so put the hurt on you right now."

"You are having one hell of a week Talon." Ben chuckled softly. "Don't worry. Valla and I will take care of Princess."

I jumped down from the exam table and moved toward my cabin. "Just make sure she is secured. I don't want to have any more body parts torn up today."

Valla nodded as she disappeared into the cargo area. Zylie helped me to bed and then laid down next to me.

She gave me a sad smile. "I guess wild and frenzied manic bonding is out of the question now."

I grinned as I shifted in the bed trying to get comfortable. "I may be able to handle some slow and sensual bonding."

"I can do that." She turned and kissed me softly on the lips. "I promise, I'll be gentle."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Entry 8**_

Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara arrived on Kuat the next day. My uncle wore his Jedi robes, but my aunt was dressed in a casual green jumpsuit with boots and a weapon's belt. I don't think she ever had a fondness for bulky Jedi apparel. As they walked up the boarding ramp of the _Vazy Princess_ they were greeted enthusiastically by Ben and Valla. Zylie and I lagged behind allowing them some privacy.

Ben gave his dad a firm hug before turning to his mother and kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks for coming."

"I will use any excuse to see my son," Mara said with a warm smile before turning to Valla. "And my favorite daughter-in-law." She embraced the younger woman before stepping back and allowing her husband to do the same. My aunt looked up the ramp and spied me and Zylie waiting on board. "Talon, let me see what damage my oldest son did to you."

I grinned as I walked toward my former master and gave her a warm hug. "It's not so bad." I stepped back and traced a finger over the scar on my forehead. "It's healing up nicely."

At that point my aunt noticed my bandaged arm. "I was told you were punched. What happened to your arm?"

I gave a dismissive gesture. "I was bit."

"Ben bit you?"

I had to laugh at the shocked sound of my aunt's voice.

"No," I chuckled. "The Vornskr bit me."

Mara's jaw dropped. "Ouch!"

My uncle came up the ramp and gave Zylie a kiss on the cheek before he examined my bandaged arm. "Vornskr bite, huh? I was told Princess didn't like you. Obviously I didn't know the full extent of her hatred."

I shrugged. "She is extra moody because she's pregnant."

Mara's eyebrow raised slightly. "How did she manage that? Do you have two vornskrs?"

Zylie shook her head. "We dropped Princess off with my dad a few weeks ago and his male vornskr got loose and mounted her."

Mara grinned and turned to Luke. "Maybe your uncle can take one of the litter. He thinks he can talk to vornskrs."

Luke rolled his eyes before addressing Ben. "Your mother is referring to the time we were attacked by one of the beasts while travelling through the Myrkr forest. I had to yell to distract one of the animals to save your mother's life."

"That's only because farmboy was taking long naps while I stayed awake all night popping stimpills and guarding his butt."

Luke gave a nostalgic smile. "Those were the days." He gave Zylie a wink. "Mara won't admit it, but she had a thing for me as far back as Myrkr."

My aunt just groaned and shook her head. My uncle sidled up next to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Admit it," he teased.

Mara laughed before pushing him away playfully. "I'll admit you looked okay in that tight sleeveless t-shirt."

"Arrggghhh," Ben groaned. "Are you two still romanticizing about how you met?" He walked past them and into the main part of the ship while gesturing everybody to follow. "That story gets mushier by every year. Mom admits she admired my dad's toned arms while dad expressed how wonderful my mother looked in her skin tight body suit. They make it sound like they met at a Chandrila beach resort. I've been to Myrkr, remember? It is a hot, sticky, Force-void hellhole full of things that can kill you." He stopped and turned to his parents. "The truth is Mom wanted to kill Dad. They had animals constantly trying to stalk and slaughter them and they were actively hunted by Imperial Stormtroopers. There is nothing romantic about that story."

Mara scoffed. "That's because we left out all the scandalous and licentious parts of the tale. When you were growing up we had to give you an age-appropriate account of our adventure."

Ben's face went slack. "What?"

Luke guffawed before giving his son a slap on the back. "She's joking. You're right. It was an awful experience, but the truth is vornskrs brought us together. Your mom saved me from one and then I saved her. It was the start of trust between us."

I turned to Zylie and smiled broadly. "Did you hear that? Killing a vornskr could bring us closer together."

My wife scowled at my tasteless joke. "The only thing killing Princess will bring you closer to is getting shot out the airlock."

"Ouch." I chuckled then gave my uncle a wicked grin. "Since you like the animals so much, maybe you can take the entire litter off our hands when they're born."

Both Mara and Luke shook their heads in unison. "No way. Why would a Jedi want a Force-hunting predator?"

"I'll say," Ben agreed with his father. "That is almost as crazy as a Jedi keeping a Force-void ysalamiri as a pet." He looked at me knowingly.

"Like I had a choice? I grew up with them, but they weren't my pets. They belonged to my dad and he kept Nibbles because that was the ysalamiri that saved his life and helped Talon Karrde kill the Emperor Reborn. According to my father, that ysalamiri was the hero of Byss."

"That's true, but we can discuss Myrkr fauna later." Luke put his hand on my shoulder as we entered the galley. "Ben said you sensed that the woman you saw was a mind-witch. I need to know everything that happened in detail so we can determine the best way to proceed."

"Okay." I slid into a chair surrounding the dining table. "I'll tell you what I know." I noticed Valla and Zylie didn't stick around to hear all the details. It is still a sore subject for Ben's wife. Hopefully when we put this witch in jail there will be some closure concerning this incident.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Entry 9**_

Ben and I told his parents all the details of what happened. Uncle Luke listened quietly, occasionally interrupting to ask question or clarify a point. "So, when you saw her Talon she was a young woman?"

"Yes, she just wasn't Valla. She was young and pretty."

"Then that means she is probably a young witch. From my limited experience with a mind-witch she can only fool one or two people at a time. If she was old it is doubtful she could project multiple visions to a group of people. What you, Zylie and Valla saw was probably her true form. This makes her more dangerous."

Ben frowned. "Why is that? I would think an older, more experienced witch would be a greater problem."

"If she found you alone, without witnesses, that would be true." Uncle Luke drummed his fingers on the table in thought. "S'ybll, the mind-witch I went against was very old and ugly in her natural form. It is unlikely she could walk into a crowded dance floor and not attract unwanted attention. Even if she just fed and was once again young looking the effort to hold up that sort of illusion would quickly drain her. Unfortunately for me, S'ybll was able to project an image of my old friend Tanith Shire to get me alone."

My Aunt Mara rolled her eyes. "Old girlfriend you mean."

My uncle turned to his wife, the corner of his lips curling up slightly. "Did I ever tell you, you are beautiful when you're jealous."

"Ha!" She gave him a sultry grin. "I don't have to be jealous to be beautiful."

Ben made a gagging noise. "Please, I think I have reached my limit of mush during this visit." He turned to me. "Do you have this problem with your parents?"

"Are you kidding? They are twice as bad and are usually in Mandalorian armor and slave costumes."

My aunt looked at me confused. "What?"

I waved off her comment. "Nothing, nothing." I turned to my uncle. "Please continue with your story."

My uncle straightened in his seat and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, a witch works best one-on-one."

"I bet," my aunt whispered under her breath.

Luke gave her a warning look but continued. "If there was a group of people with me, it would be impossible to trick all of us. At least that is what I learned from my research in the years since I went up against her. They work best at fooling one person at a time. They like to get their victim alone."

Ben nodded in understanding. "If the young woman Talon saw is her true form, that means security vids from the party might be able to pick up her real image and we could track her via the city's public surveillance system."

Mara nodded. "We have requested cooperation from the Kuat government to do an investigation. Since their law enforcement personnel never even heard of a mind-witch they gave us permission to conduct the investigation. They did request that we provide evidence for a warrant prior to an arrest. They don't want their citizens unduly harassed by Jedi."

Ben leaned back in his chair and frowned. "This case is going to be tough. Once we find her we need to go to the authorities and provide proof for an arrest. They may issue one on the Grand Master's word, but unless she has the dead bodies of her victims stacked in a backroom we might have difficulty proving she did anything wrong." He looked over to me. "Talon had his post-cognitive vision, but Jedi visions have never held up in court."

My aunt Mara pursed her lips in thought. "It's unlikely she bothered to sanitize her apartment of any damning DNA evidence, but I doubt she left any bodies to incriminate her of any wrong doing. Getting rid of that evidence was probably simple."

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "How so? A petite woman getting a dead body out of her home can't be easy."

"Mind-witches have some telekinetic abilities, but that is not why I think we won't find any of her victims." Mara gave me a hard smile. "In your vision did you actually see the men dying in her home?"

I shook my head.

Mara blew out a frustrated breath. "That's what I thought. She could drain the men of their life essence until they were at the brink of dying. She then could walk them out of her apartment and abandon them at a supermarket. The manager would find a senile, elderly man, near death. Of course she would remove any identification and if the man didn't have a criminal record his fingerprints might not show up in the archives. If a match did occur the coroner would probably disregard the results as a near match because the prints belong to a much younger man. Her victims were probably cremated as an unknown indigent person."

Ben ran a hand over his face. "Great. So we probably don't have bodies. If we discover where she lives and the forensic team finds foreign DNA we then have to figure out who went missing and get samples of family member DNA and try to do a familial match."

Uncle Luke threw up his hands in a halting motion. "Okay, hold up for a moment. Let's not get frustrated. I'm sure most people looking for a missing family member have already provided genetic samples for Law Enforcement. What we really need is to find her and then we can worry about holding and convicting her of her crimes."

I closed my eyes in frustration. Now I remember why I hate doing Sentinel work with Ben. The job entails a lot of surveillance and boring undercover work. It looks like we are going to be looking through a million hours of security vids. We can only hope to find her in the security footage at the party and then run a face recognition profile on her. Boring!

"It may not be too tedious Talon," My uncle said. My eyes opened wide. Either he is a good guesser or I was projecting my thoughts.

"Why do you say that?"

Luke gave Ben and me a grim look. "Because I have a feeling she might be looking for you two as we speak. A Force-user is like a tantalizing drug to energy draining species like mind-witches, Anzats, Garhoons or Energy Vampires. To them a Jedi is a banquet. It probably would take a dozen non-Force users to equal the life energies of a Jedi." He pointed to both Ben and me. "And you two are no ordinary Jedi. Both are you are exceedingly powerful in the Force. I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to lure one or both of you into her trap."

I looked to Ben and then back to my uncle. "What if she comes at us looking like you, Aunt Mara or our wives? How would be know it's the witch?"

Uncle Luke leaned forward in his seat. "There is a way to tell who you are dealing with. When the witch is doing her projection you will feel a vibration in the Force. The same niggling feeling you get when somebody is trying to do a Jedi mind trick or use the Force to disguise his or her features. It is not a strong sensation, but it's enough to confirm a person's identity if you are unsure. Let me demonstrate."

He turned to Ben, his face tightening in concentration. After a few seconds my cousin's brows rose slightly. "I can sense what you mean." He turned to me. "Can you feel it Talon?"

I turned to my uncle and reached out with the Force. After a long moment I did sense a juddering in the Force. It wasn't a blatant peculiarity within the Force, but it would be enough to confirm somebody's identity. I smiled brightly. "I sense it also."

My uncle's face relaxed into a gratified smile. "I knew you too would catch on quickly." He turned to my aunt and reached out and taking her hand in his. "Ben, I think your mother and I will freshen up and I'll change into some nondescript clothing and we can then go to the local law enforcement office. The Chief of Public Security said he would pull the surveillance vids from the party where you were accosted. If we can find her on the vids we can then take her image to the Omni-Tech city surveillance company that monitors the public venues and see if the face recognition software can find us a match."

I tried to maintain a smile on my face as my aunt and uncle rose from their seats. They make it sound exciting, but I always find these missions so monotonous.

Hopefully this will turn out to be a thrilling action-packed adventure and I'll end up catching a witch.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Entry 10**_

We postponed going to the local law enforcement building last night. After our talk with Ben's parents we discovered our wives couldn't stay until the end of our mission. They have cargo runs to do for their dad's trading company and had to leave Kuat. We decided to start the mission the next day, allowing us some time with our ladies before we had to say our farewells.

Zylie and I were in our cabin the next morning having spent the entire night together saying our goodbyes…and by that I mean we bonded hysterically. Ha! I packed a bag and was ready to leave the _Vazy Princess_ when my wife pulled me into her embrace and kissed me possessively. She then whispered into my ear. "We should have a safe word."

"What?" I laughed as I raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something special in mind before I leave?" Hey, we never were really into that stuff, but I was willing to give it a go.

She gave me a playful poke to my ribs. "Not that! I just don't want that witch showing up as me and tricking you. We should have a secret word so you'll know it's me."

I leaned in and nibbled on her earlobe. "That sounds good, but I think a mind-witch can read minds…hence the name MIND-witch."

"Oh, we should have one just in case."

I ran a hand across my jaw in thought. "Okay lets have a safe word, but you can't tell me the word or phrase so the witch can't pick it out of my thoughts."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "How would that work?"

"I will know it is you if I ask you a question and you answer in the exact opposite of what you normally would say. So if I asked you if I like ID10T you would say 'Yes'. If I ask you if I love getting mauled by a large predatory animal you would say, 'Yes'".

"Oh I get it," Zylie said sarcastically. "So if you say 'is my wife ever wrong?' I would say, 'Yes'.

I thought about that for a second. "Yes…wait…no."

She laughed before reaching around my waist and slapping my butt teasingly. "Hopefully the Grand Master has taught you how not to be fooled." She leaned in and gave me a lingering kiss. "Be careful, Talon."

"I'm always careful." I grabbed my bag and left the cabin. I found Ben outside his cabin kissing Valla thoroughly. "Let's not keep your parents waiting."

Ben broke away from his wife and picked up his luggage and followed me down the boarding ramp. "Take care of each other," Valla called out.

I turned around, walking down the gangway backwards while grinning at my sister-in-law. "Hey, he's with me. Don't worry."

I don't know why that comment made her look more worried that she did previously.

We exited the ship and walked down to where the _Jade Shadow_ was docked.

Ben gave me a knowing look. "You hate sentinel work, don't you?"

"I prefer working as a Jedi asset to a Void Jumper unit."

It was true. Just like my dad, I favor working with soldiers. Plus, there is nothing like the rush of Void Jumping. I looked down at my jump boots and smiled. They were high top, stiff, black boots with the Void Jumper crest imprinted deep into the leather on the back of the heels. Only combat jumpers were authorized to wear them and, like my father, I wore them with pride.

As we approached the ship we saw Mara and Luke exiting the _Jade Shadow_ wearing inconspicuous tunic and trousers. They had their blasters in sight but their lightsabers were probably tucked away in an interior pocket. Ben and I also wore civilian clothing with our sabers concealed. Nothing will blow an undercover mission faster than a swinging lightsaber.

Luke smiled and gave us a wave. "An airtaxi should be here any minute. The Chief of Public Security will meet us at his office. He has pulled hours of security vids for us to go over."

Ack! How can he sound so chipper that the thought of doing such a mundane and monotonous task. My uncle must have some special Jedi skill he hasn't taught me because boredom doesn't seem to bother him like it does me.

We get to the Security Office and start watching the security footage from the party. We were fairly sure we got there between 2100 and 2200 hours. So we started observing footage from around 2030.

Okay this wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be. The reactions from my aunt and uncle were priceless. Ha! My uncle blushed a deep red when he saw some of the skimpy outfits some of the women were wearing. Luke gave us a disapproving glance before shaking his head. Obviously he doesn't approve of his Jedi Knights attending such a risqué party. Ha! I am _so_ glad I didn't wear that 'Savage' outfit to the celebration.

After about twenty minutes of watching the video Ben calls out, "There we are." I look to where he is pointing and see us entering the establishment.

My aunt chuckled as Luke closed his eyes in disbelief. "What in the world are your wives wearing?"

I'm grinning as gazed at the holovid and pretended that I was formulating a serious answer. "It looks like we have two sexy Imperials trying to apprehend two extremely handsome Jedi."

Mara snorted. "I see your Imperial escorts are doing an informal pat down on you two. Did they find any illegal weapons hidden in your clothing?"

Ben laughed. "Illegal? No!"

"We _were_ packing, though," I said with a laugh. I grinned at the Grand Master. "I thought you had a soft spot for female Imperials."

Ben closed his eyes and groaned. "Don't encourage them, Talon."

Luke smirked before giving a furtive glance toward his wife. "I guess I can understand the attraction."

We continued to watch the security vid as Ben and Valla entered the dance floor. In the background Zylie and I could be seen sitting at our table. My aunt laughed out loud when I was accosted by the three females dressed as Jedi. "Damn Talon. With them jumping around all excited as they were, I'm surprised they didn't bounce right out of their tunics."

Luke slapped a hand to his forehead. "Talon, did you just direct those women toward my son?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Maybe."

Ben reached toward the monitors. "Can we fast forward it a few minutes. There is no need to watch this."

Mara slapped his hand away. "If you don't want us to see what comes next then I definitely don't want to miss it."

Uncle Luke shook his head aghast. "Why are they exposing their breasts?"

Ben blushed. "They wanted me to autograph their chests."

We continued to scrutinize the recordings and eventually the mind-witch showed up. "There she is!" I called out while pointing to a woman approaching Ben as he waited to order drinks at the bar.

Ben leaned forward and focused closely on the image. "So that is what she really looks like. Can we get a close up of her face?"

"We probably could if you weren't sucking her face," I joked. By this time the witch had pulled Ben onto the dance floor and were in an amorous embrace.

Luke ran a hand down his face as he made a groaning sound. "Your wife saw you doing this?"

Ben fell back into his chair looking disgusted with himself. "I know. It's bad, but I thought it was Valla. I think she understands that now."

Mara paused the playback and frowned at her son. "Even if you thought that was your wife, don't you think that is a little too much flagrant kissing and groping to do in a public setting?"

Ben's face burned in embarrassment. "I usually don't act that way in public."

Luke reached over and patted his wife's hand. "Mara, the mind-witch can make a man act out-of-character and do things he normally would never do. Believe me, I know."

Her eyes narrowed as she turned to her husband. "Oh really? What exactly did your mind-witch have you doing that was out of character for you?"

Now it was Luke's turn to blush. "I'll tell you in private."

"Yes, please do it in private. I don't want to know." Ben gestured toward the monitors. "Can we continue with this video so I can find a good shot of her face."

Mara turned the video back on and soon we caught a glimpse of my cousin sucker punching me. Everybody cringed as they watched me drop to the ground on the video.

"Ouch!" Mara muttered.

"It hurts me to watch this," Ben whispered.

I chuckled as I ran a hand over my chin. "It hurt me to experience it."

"Now that you are on the floor we do have a good shot of our witch." Uncle Luke froze the image and zoomed in to the woman's face. "We will record this image and then run a facial identification search in the criminal records and also see if we can find her in other public security vids."

Ben inserted a small memory card onto the side of the monitor and then punched the keyboard to download the image on the screen. "If we can find her in the public video feeds we might discover where she lives or hunts."

I felt relieved. Having her image made our job so much easier. "So, we just have to wait until the facial imaging program tracks her down and we go and arrest her."

Ben shook his head. "The program is not one-hundred percent accurate. It may indicate possible matches with dozens of women. It is our job to weed out the real witch from the lookalikes."

I let out a groan. This is going to be a very long and boring day.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Entry 11**_

My head hurts. I have a headache not only from the sheer, mind-numbing boredom of watching surveillance videos, but also because a few times I nodded off and my forehead actually hit the table. To make matters worse, Ben would periodically smack the back of my head when he caught me watching the monitors with my eyes closed.

The computer face recognition program had spotted six women whose features were a close match to the mind-witch we were looking for. Our job was to eliminate various women based on visual clues like height, weight or hairstyle…things the program didn't account for. One woman we easily disregarded since she had an arm in a cast. Another lady wasn't tall enough to be our witch. Two of the women had the wrong hair color. This left two females who looked very similar to each other. We followed these women on the vids and watched where they went and what they did. In the end we couldn't eliminate either woman, so we decided to tail the ladies ourselves and try to ascertain which one was our witch. After determining their daily habits and patterns we were sure we could follow them and hopefully get close enough to verify what we were dealing with. Once we knew which woman was our target we would make plans to capture her.

My uncle stood up from his monitor and stretched his back while yawning. I guess he isn't quite immune to boredom. He turned to Ben and me. "We might as well start surveillance of these women tonight."

My Aunt Mara gave a nod of agreement. "Night missions were always my preference."

I wasn't sure if there was a double meaning of that statement, but I smirked anyway. Ben gave me a warning glare, which I didn't understand. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I thought you were going to say what you always say about night missions?"

My aunt looked to her son and then to me. "And what is that?"

Ben stood with a chuckle. "He calls them nocturnal missions."

My aunt and uncle both gave a groan of disapproval. "How does Zylie tolerate you?"

I shrugged with a grin. "I am on my best behavior around her. She has a vornskr."

"Remind me to bring Princess with us the next time we work together." Luke pulled on his coat and had us do a comlink check. "We just want to verify her identity. Once we know which woman is our witch we will contact the local authorities and plan for an arrest." He motioned toward Ben. "You and Talon check out the female that lives in the west quadrant of the city. Your mother and I will do surveillance on the woman who lives near the smashball stadium. Blasters on stun." He looked directly at me. "Don't do anything rash."

Mara rolled her eyes. "That's I lesson I tried to teach him all during his apprenticeship and failed miserably."

I pulled out my blaster and ensured it was on the proper setting. "I have become much more responsible since my youth," I assured my former master.

"Just be careful." Uncle Luke put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "She is probably looking for you two. Jedi are like spice to a mind-witch. If she comes after you she will probably try to separate you two and then work her illusions. Remember what I taught you."

Mara turned to Luke. "Maybe I should go with Ben and you with Talon."

He shook his head. "The witch has already seen them together and is probably actively searching. If she sees Ben or Talon with other Jedi she might get spooked and go to ground." He smiled at his son. "They'll be fine."

I don't know why, but it appears that when the Grand Master is giving a warning look it is usually directed towards me, but when he is giving words of encouragement or reassurance he looks towards Ben. Maybe he really does believe I'm reckless.

Ben gave me a light slap on the back. "Come on, let's get a taxi to the west quadrant."

We said our goodbyes to Mara and Luke and began our nocturnal mission. Ha!

 _ **Entry 12**_

The west quadrant of the city is what some people call the _'Spice and Skin'_ area of town, meaning drugs and prostitutes are found there in abundance. In the surveillance vids the woman who might be our mind-witch lived in a rundown apartment complex. We never saw her enter the building with anyone, but there was a steady stream of visitors in and out of the complex. The back of the building wasn't covered by security video, so she could have lured victims in through the backdoor.

"This woman works as a part-time cashier at the local grocery store," I said to Ben as we walked down to dimly lit streets. "Would a witch need a job? Couldn't she con people into giving her money?"

Ben had his hands shoved deep into his coat pockets as he walked next to me. "She might want a steady income to pay for the basics. Also her job may give her the opportunity to meet hundreds of people a day allowing her to spot a Force strong target."

"Maybe she..." My sentence was interrupted as I nearly tripped over a derelict sleeping on the street in a torn and stained sleeping bag. As I skirted around him I noticed a spider-roach scuttling across his exposed face before disappearing in a dirty mop of grayish brown hair. That horrifying sight made me shudder. I was so focused on the arachnid that I almost bumped into a street light pole.

"Keep your eyes open Talon." Ben smirked at my near collision. "She should be getting off work any minute. We want to get into position so we can confirm her identity and we can't do that if you walk into a pole and get a concussion."

I nudge my cousin away from me with a shoulder-to-shoulder bump. "I wish I could drag you on Void Jumper missions so I can make fun of you."

He laughed. "I never understood jumping from a perfectly functional troopship."

"I have news for you. The Galactic Alliance doesn't own any perfectly functional troopships."

Ben stopped and made a quick pointing gesture. "There she is. It looks like she got off work a little early."

I looked up the walkway and saw a young brunette exit a building about a block up the road. From this distance I couldn't tell if she was the woman from the club. Back then she wore a slinky dress, high heel shoes and had long flowing tresses. This woman had her hair pulled back and was wearing a utilitarian jumpsuit with a red apron embroidered with the store logo. I couldn't see her face clearly because she was preoccupied with checking messages on her handheld smart-pad.

"Is that her?" Ben looked at me for confirmation.

I shook my head. "I don't know. This lady has her hair pulled back in a braid; she's not dressed in the same provocative manner. I think we will have to get right up to her and see if we can sense that fluctuation in the Force your dad told us about."

Ben nodded and started to move toward her. When we were about ten meters apart the doors to a movie theater we were approaching flew open and a steady stream of moviegoers began to stream out of the building. Ben and I stopped and waited for the crowd to disperse. I kept an eye on the woman who was standing on the other side of the crowd. She was watching the people as they exited the movie house when she suddenly started to act anxious. She looked around the crowd expectantly, searching for something. She never locked eyes on Ben and me but she quickly turned and started walking away.

I gave Ben a nudge. "She's leaving. I think she may have sensed us." We pushed our way through the crowd and followed the woman. When we got to the other side of the throng of people I couldn't see her. "Where did she go?"

Ben turned around in a circle, his face a mask of concentration. I realized he was trying to sense her through the Force. I also reached out and tried to locate her. It was then that I felt that fluttering of the Force coming from a slim man walking in the same direction that we saw the woman flee. I pointed toward him. "There! She changed form."

I started to give chase, but Ben grabbed my sleeve. "Don't scare her off. We just needed a confirmation. I think we got it. She noticed us and she's now projecting another image."

I shook out of Ben's grasp and continued to walk. "Ben, if she saw us she knows we are looking for her. She is going to disappear. We need to make this arrest now, while we have a chance."

Ben looked like he was going to argue, but then nodded in agreement. We quickened our pace while he grabbed his comlink and let his parents know what was going on. The man turned down an alley and started to run. Ben and I broke out into a jog to keep up with the witch. When we entered the alleyway the man was about forty meters away and it appeared that he was in close pursuit of a woman. As we ran after them I noticed the woman was wearing the same grocery store outfit of our suspected witch. I looked to Ben who was jogging by my side. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I sense that the man is our witch. Perhaps the woman is an innocent that just happened to look like our witch."

The two people were now in dead sprints. At some point the male (or a female projecting the appearance of a male) noticed us following. He pulled out a blaster and shot a few rounds in our direction. Ben and I immediately pulled out our concealed lightsabers and deflected the blasterbolts. I know what it feels like to deflect stun bolts and that was what the man/witch had his blaster set on. One would think this is a good thing, but it is actually easier to deflect blaster bolts than stun bolts because of its wider dispersion pattern.

We successfully defended ourselves then started back after the two as the woman and man ducted down a side road and disappeared from our view. We deactivated our sabers as we rounded the corner and then stopped, unable to locate either individual.

"Where's they go?" I reached out with the Force and tried to sense the witch and found her trail. The fluctuation was much stronger now. "She's close." I ran down another dank side alley in the direction of the growing fluctuations. In the distance I could see the man again. I was surprised that the witch didn't change form after we lost sight of her. Perhaps she is not good at multitasking. Maybe running, shooting a blaster and changing form is at a much higher skill level than she possessed. I stopped, pulled my blaster from my holster took aim and fired. Up ahead the witch crumbled to the ground stunned. The woman that the witch was chasing never turned around but kept moving. As I moved toward the unconscious man I could feel an increase in the variation in the Force. He/she was definitely our witch.

"Talon stop!" Ben called out. "This doesn't feel right." I slowed my pace before turning to my cousin trailing behind.

"What doesn't feel right? Can you feel the change in the Force? That _is_ our witch."

He pointed to the man lying on the ground. "If that person is the woman we saw in the club and the lady in the grocery store was just an unfortunate lookalike…then why hasn't he changed form? I don't think a witch can hold an illusion while blacked out."

We both moved toward the unconscious man cautiously. "Do you think they were both mind-witches and the one from the club got away?"

"That could be." He swung around looking up and down the alley and to the roof. "Also, that fluctuation is still increasing in intensity."

"We are getting closer to him," I pointed out.

"The fluctuation feels like a ground quake to my senses. Something is very wrong."

I noticed movement behind Ben. I holstered my weapon and activated my lightsaber. "We have company to your rear."

"I noticed." He jerked his chin to the area behind me. "Behind you, also."

A small group of people approached us, three behind Ben and five behind me. All wore dark clothing with hoods pulled up over their heads concealing their facial features. Ben activated his saber and called out. "Back up. We are on Jedi business."

One of the larger individuals behind me pointed his blaster toward the man on the ground. "What business do the Jedi have with my brother?"

I groaned inwardly. If the man on the ground was a mind-witch, then this large fellow was also a witch, which explains why the fluctuation in the Force was increasing exponentially.

"He's a mind-witch." Ben explained.

The man shrugged. "So? What crime did he commit?"

I looked over to Ben, not knowing how we should answer that question. My cousin squared his shoulders and glared at the man defiantly. "He was chasing a woman to kill her."

The large man looked to his companions and then laughed. "Was he now? How do you know that? Were you using your Jedi mind powers to ascertain his motives?"

I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. These people were not at all concerned that Ben and I were Jedi and currently holding lethal lightsabers in our hands. They were standing there and engaging with us like it was a normal conversation among friends.

Ben took a step toward the group's spokesman. "Back away. We're bringing this man in to the police for questioning." He pointed his saber toward the unconscious witch. "He's only stunned. We don't intend to harm him."

The group stood their ground not showing any intention of leaving. The large man waved a blaster in Ben's direction. "We can't let you take him. I'm sorry. Why don't you and your shaved Wookiee take a walk."

I gritted my teeth at that comment. Why do people like calling tall, muscular humans shaved Wookiees? "That's not going to happen. I warn you, your blasters aren't going to be effective against trained Jedi."

The man laughed. "Oh yeah, that's right. You guys have the Force as your ally…except when you don't."

I was mulling over the meaning of that comment when I heard a swoop bike flying overhead. The pilot dove down and dropped a mesh bag into ringleader's arms. The leader's face was shrouded in the shadow of his hood, but I couldn't miss the wide grin that now crossed his face. He walked toward me and Ben, the bag in one hand and a blaster in the other. "Let's see how good you guys are with those sabers without the Force."

At that moment I felt a very familiar sensation. It was the Force dimming and then fading away. It was the same Force void I experienced hundreds of times in my youth. I knew, without a doubt, that the bag held a ysalamiri. I reached for my blaster, intent on killing the animal, but the man fired first, followed by the rest of his group. Ben and I blocked the first few bolts, but having so many people shooting at one time would have been difficult to defend in the first place, without the Force we wouldn't last for long. And I was right, after successfully deflecting a dozen stun bolts one finally found me. Ben was still up and fighting as I slowly lost consciousness.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Entry 13**_

The blackness slowly lifted and I could see evidence of light through my closed eyelids. I tried to lift my head, but my body was paralyzed. I couldn't even manage to open my eyes. I have heard about body paralysis when a person is hit with multiple stunbolts. It takes time for your brain to start communicating with your body. At least I was conscious, albeit a bit groggy and with a blazing migraine. I tried to reach out to the Force but I couldn't touch its healing energy. The ysalamiri must be in the room. The Force was silent, but the muttering of voices around me became clearer and I started to follow their whispered conversations.

"What the Kriff are we going to do with them?" came a male voice from behind me.

A second male voice responded. "We should have left them there. Their Jedi friends will come for them."

From my front a third man spoke. He sounded younger and extremely panicked. "We should kill them. They know who we are. They know what we are. We can't have the Jedi knowing of our existence. You know what they'll do. You know what they'll all do."

"Calm down Jarod."

"How the kriff can I calm down! Grand Master Skywalker and his kriff'n wife…who is not only a Jedi Master but Former Imperial assassin have been seen in the area. The two deadliest Jedi in the galaxy are searching for these idiots!"

"You know why, don't you?" The question came from a female standing somewhere to my side. "The redhead is their oldest son. I recognized him. It's Ben Skywalker."

"Oh fraken kriff!" the younger sounding man moaned. "Kriffity, kriffity kriff! We are so kriffed!"

"Calm down Jarod," the man behind me repeated.

"I'm not sure who the big guy is." the female voice came closer and I felt a hand brush across my shoulder. I tried move away from her touch but only managed to jerk my head slightly. "Uhh ohhh, the big boy is coming to."

I could hear a movement behind me and the soft whine of a blaster charging. "We can't have that. Orders are to keep them out until the boss gets here."

There was a discharge of a blaster and then blackness.

 _ **Entry 14**_

I don't know how long I was out. The Force still eluded me, but this time I sensed my abductors weren't in the room. I listened for a long time, trying to pick up movement, breathing or anything that would indicate I had company. I eventually did hear something. To my right there was the soft sound of breathing. I was fairly sure I was hearing Ben. I struggled to open my eyes. It took a few minutes, but eventually my eyelids fluttered open. I grunted as the pain intensified from the brightness of the overhead lights. I managed to turn my head and saw Ben tied to a chair, head slumped down, with a line of spittle making a path from his mouth and down to his thigh. We must have been here for a while because there was a palm sized puddle of saliva on the leg of his trousers.

"Ben." I whispered dryly, my voice cracking. I swallowed a few times trying to get moisture into my mouth before I tried again. "Ben."

When he didn't answer I turned my head slowly, examining my surroundings. We were imprisoned in what looked like a large storage room. There were no windows, just gray duracrete walls with a metal door as the only hope of escape. Ben and I were secured to sturdy wooden chairs using plastic tie down straps and heavy-duty adhesive tape. I could feel bindings around my ankles holding my legs to the chair supports. My wrists were bound in the same manner to the armrests. I turned back to Ben to make sure he was all right. I could see his chest rising and falling in a relaxed manner. I didn't notice any bruises or cuts on him. At least our kidnappers haven't tortured us…yet.

"Ben." He didn't wake, but remained silently drooling. I braced myself for the pain and used all of the energy I could gather to scoot the chair centimeter by centimeter closer to my cousin. "Ben." This time a moan escaped his lips. "Ben, wake up."

He grunted before his eyes fluttered open, then grimaced as he turned his head in my direction. "Talon?"

I smiled despite the hammering in my head. "Are you okay?"

Ben's head dropped down as he drew in a deep breath. "It hurts to breath." He turned back to me. "We got captured by the mind-witches…didn't we?"

I sighed shamefully. "Yeah. This is my fault."

"No, I agreed to follow the male witch. I'm senior Jedi. I should have known better."

"Did you hear what they said earlier? While we were in this room."

"No, what did they say?"

I frowned and let out a shuddered breath. "One of them wants us dead. They're scared because your parents are searching for us."

"They won't find us if we're blocked out by the ysalamiri." He spit and shook his head trying to dislodge the thin line of drool from his lips. "It's too bad you didn't develop your father's immunity to those Force void lizards."

"Yeah." I sat silently, pondering our situation. I brought my head up and twisted it to the side as far as I could, trying to see what was behind me. "If we can kill the ysalamiri, we might escape." I flung my body against the restraints in an effort to turn the chair. Pain burst through my head at the harsh movement and I cringed when the legs of the chair screeched against the tile floor. I managed to turn enough to see a cage in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, it appeared to be made out of heavy metal with air holes drilled around the side. If the ysalamiri was inside I couldn't kill it unless I could get my hands free and open the cage door. "Frack! He's in a heavy metal container."

I started to shift my chair side-to-side towards the cage when I heard voices in the distance. "Stang! Ben, pretend you are still unconscious or else they'll blast you again." I frantically tried to shift my chair back to its original position, but didn't quite succeed. I could only hope they wouldn't notice as I dropped my head, closed my eyes, and feigned unconsciousness.

The heavy metal door opened with a creak. Two sets of footsteps moved from the entrance to a position in front of me. I was a little surprised when I heard someone snickering.

"You know, even if you got back to where you started you left scuff marks all over the floor." The voice was of one of the calmer males that I heard earlier.

I was content to continue my charade. I didn't want to interact with my captors and face questioning.

"He's scared we will stun him again," came a woman's voice. I startled when I felt somebody flopping down in my lap. "Wakey, wakey." I reluctantly brought my head up to find a very young woman—probably a teenager—stretched out across my lap. She was wearing a black outfit and dark sunglasses to disguise her identity. My other captor was a dark haired man with tinted ski goggles over his eyes. I let out a sigh of relief. If they're hiding their identities that could mean they didn't intend to kill us.

The woman wrapped her arm around my neck and brought her face close to mine. "You are one large hunk of Jedi. I can see why Lita wanted to suck you dry."

The man groaned. "Damn it, Sissy, no names." He grimaced when he realized his mistake.

The girl glared at him. "I'll try to remember that Terk."

"Kriff. Why don't we give them our identification cards while we're at it." The man unholstered his blaster. "Stand back or you'll get hit…not that I mind stunning your sarcastic butt. It'd be real funny to see you flat on the deck and drooling like a moron."

She put up her hand in a halting gesture. " _Your_ boss is in the building. He'll want them awake."

He frowned before returning the blaster to his holster. "He's your boss also."

The girl laughed before she turned her attention back to me. "I'd like to get this one alone. Tie him down to a bed and have my way with him."

The man scoffed. "Yeah. You talk big, but I know you're a virgin."

She turned in my lap causing her buttock to pivot over my groin painfully. "That's not true…exactly."

I made a sound of disgust. "Can we not talk about your adolescent love life while you are crushing my bits and pieces?"

She grinned and made and extra effort to bounce on my lap before leaning in and licking the side of my face. I pulled my head back forcefully causing my vision to swim. The young lady laughed at my discomfort before she let out a squeal of pain. I large hand with meaty fingers and gold rings had grabbed her by the earlobe and roughly yanked her off my lap.

"Owww, that hurts!" She jerked her head free as she gave a pouting glare to her attacker.

The owner of the hand was a large, muscular man dressed in tan work trousers, tunic and leather jacket. A knit cold weather mask-allowing only his mouth and eyes to be seen-covered his face. "It's supposed to hurt!" he yelled at the woman. "Get out of my sight."

Her face grew hot with indignation and I could see her jaw working as she gritted her teeth. "Fine." She stomped out of the room and tried to slam the door behind her, but the heavy rusted door refused to be slammed. She left it partly open, mumbling and cursing under her breath as she walked down the hall.

The newcomer turned to the man in the snow goggles. "You too." The smaller man scurried out of the room leaving the door open. The masked man turned to face us. He clasped his hands behind his back and rocked back on his heels while scrutinizing us.

"I must apologize for my daughter's behavior. She's seventeen and thinks she doesn't need to listen to her father." He looked over to Ben who continued to feign unconsciousness. "Stop pretending you're asleep Jedi Skywalker."

Ben let out a breath before raising his head slowly. The giant of a man went over to the door and reached for something out of sight. I was relieved when he pulled out a small, armless chair from the hallway. He returned to our location setting the chair down backwards. He swung his leg over the seat, straddling it, while resting his arms across the top back support. "I am in a bit of a quandary. My family and friends foolishly decided to capture you two. Their thought process was if we let you go you would hunt us down and murder every mind-witch you could locate. They want to kill you to keep our secret."

"We don't kill innocent people," Ben assured him.

The man gave a caustic laugh. "Mind-Witches have been hunted down and persecuted for thousands of years. We're nearly extinct!" He stood abruptly and paced the length of the room. I could see his lips pulled back exposing his white teeth while his eyes burned with hatred.

 _This is not going well._

Ben starred back at the man defiantly. "We were trying to capture a mind-witch that attempted to trick and draw me into her clutches." Ben motioned his chin toward me. "Talon had visions of her luring men into her apartment and draining their life energies until dead. She was a murderer!"

The man stopped pacing and rolled his eyes. "Yes, and that is why we were trying to capture her, but dumb-kriff here," he gestured in my direction. "Shot my man before he could apprehend her."

"You were hunting her?" There was a tinge of disbelief in Ben's voice.

He sat down, resting his hands and chin on the backrest. "Yes, we were hunting her. Why do you think we had something that could shut down the Force? She uses the Force for defense and mind-witches can be deadly when cornered." He heaved a frustrated sigh. The fire had burned out of his eyes and now only a haunted gaze remained.

"Why were you hunting her?" I had to ask.

The man slapped his palm to his forehead and gave a snort. "Gods, you must not be the brains of this operation. I already told you. She was killing people and we wanted to stop her." He waved his hands at us in a frustrated gesture before he took a couple deep breaths and settled down. "I know it might be hard to understand, but we don't want predatory witches as much as you don't want serial killers."

"Don't you all kill?" I was a bit confused with the entire situation.

"Not anymore." He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. "A hundred years ago, after a thousand years of our people being slaughtered, we decided the only way we could survive was to assimilate with humans. That meant we had to drastically change the way we…fed." He scratched at his knit mask while mumbling about it being itchy. "As I was saying, we needed to change, become invisible, and we couldn't do that if we were killing people. So all the clan leaders decided no individual would drain a person dry. We will take small amounts of life energy from dozens of people a day. Not enough for most of them to even notice. All it would do is make them feel tired. The clans would stay nomadic so not to prey on the same people constantly. It works, but every once in a while we have a witch that wants to go back to the old ways. And when that happens we hunt them down."

I cleared my throat. "And kill them?"

The man rolled his eyes again before looking at Ben. "Does your friend think killing is always the answer?"

Ben gave me a sideways glance. "He's a Void Jumper. He works for the military probably more than the Jedi…so he might have a little different mindset." He paused for a second. "He did stun your comrade."

"You're lucky. I think my men would have left two dead Jedi in that alley otherwise." He looked down while scratching the top of his head through the cap. "What am I going to do with you two?"

"I vote that you let us go." That sentence came out more sarcastic than I intended.

The large man laughed. "You do, huh?" He looked back up, his blue eyes staring me down. "All of Kuat is looking for you. It would be smart to kill you both." He stood and folded his arms across his chest. "But according to my daughter, I'm not very smart." He moved to the door, pausing before exiting. "I need to talk to the other clan leaders. I would like to find a solution that doesn't involve pissing off the Grand Master of the Jedi Order." He slipped out the door leaving Ben and I bound and confused.

I looked over to Ben questioningly. "Do you think he'll let us go?"

He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "That would be his best choice. I don't think he wants my mother coming after him. My dad might bring him to justice, but Mom…" He trailed off not wanting to verbalize what I already knew-mothers are the deadliest creatures in the galaxy when their young are threatened or killed.

I struggled with my bindings. I wasn't going to wait for some witch to determine my fate. "Then we better escape for everybody's sake."


	12. Chapter 12

_**ENTRY 15**_

Talking about escape is easy…actually doing so is difficult. I spent about twenty minutes gnawing at the heavy-duty tape securing my wrists to the chair. The end result was a saliva soaked tunic sleeve and strands of tape embedded between my teeth. Ben was faring a little better. He was able to get the end of the tape unfastened and pulled out about ten centimeters, but he was unable to loop it up and around the armrest. The loose tape hung down completely out of his reach. "Talon, maybe you can maneuver next to me and get the tape with your mouth or hand."

"I'll try." I scooted my chair over to Ben's until we are sitting side by side. I stretched out my fingers and miraculously managed to grab the tape. "Now what?"

Ben motioned his fingers in a circular motion. "Try to push it under the arm rest toward me and up and I'll see if I bend down and grab it with my teeth."

I tried to do as he asked, but couldn't stretch my fingers far enough to do anything helpful. "I can't do it in this position. With my hands secured to the armrest I can't loop it under."

Ben stared at the tape for a moment. "Maybe if you get in a position in front of me, so we are face-to-face, you can lean into me and grab the tape with your fingers and pull it up."

I understood what he was saying, but for that to happen I would have to pivot forward on my toes and practically fall into Ben's lap, but it might work. "I'll try." I inched my chair to a position in front of Ben so our knees were touching. "So…you want me to bend forward, balancing on my toes, rest my head against your chest and reach out for the tape with my fingers, pull it up and over. Is that right?"

"I think that'll work."

I blew out a breath before standing up on my toes and slowly bending forward while stretching my hand and fingers out toward the tape. The back legs of the chair came off the ground forcing me into an uncomfortable bent position. My toes started to ache and my calves cramped as I tried to maintain my balance while reaching for the elusive tape. I got close to touching it, really close, but then I lost my balance and fell forward, my head striking Ben's chest. I looked down to see how close my hand was to the tape, but I could no longer see it in my current position. "Can you see the tape?"

Ben looked around my head to the armrest. "You are close. More to the left." As I adjusted my fingers Ben clarified. "My left."

I reached out blindly, my face buried in the folds of Ben's tunic. Eventually I felt the tape and captured it precariously between my fingers. "Got it."

"Can you pull it up?"

"No, not without standing up or leaning back a bit. Can you try to stand and push forward and this way I will fall backwards. I'll keep my fingers on the tape and hopefully when I drop back to the sitting position it will unravel some more."

"Sure." Ben tried to lean forward but despite his best efforts he remained stubbornly stationary. "I can't lean forward with the weight of your body pressing to my front. Try to push your head against my chest and push off and fall back."

I rocked a bit, bouncing my head against his chest and trying to propel myself backwards, which, unfortunately, resulted in all four legs of the chair slipping out from under me. I ended up on my knees, my head resting on Ben's thighs. "Kriff!" I struggled to get out of that awkward spot but was stuck. "I swear if you tell Valla or Zylie that I ended up in this embarrassing position, I will kill you."

I could hear a hint of amusement in Ben's voice. "The witches are probably going to kill us, so I don't think you have to worry about that."

"If you truly thought that I doubt you would sound so unperturbed." I struggled to push myself away from my cousin and get out of this humiliating predicament, but I had little success. "I swear, if the witches do kill us, knowing you you'd find a way to embarrass me from beyond the grave. I could see you telling this story to the Force ghosts of old Jedi Masters."

Ben chuckled. "I can hear Yoda now. _'Horrible position to be found in that is. If not already dead, die laughing I would be. Hmmm…yeesssssss. Embarrassing it is."_

"Shut up and scooch backwards! I don't want anybody walking in and thinking we are into some strange man-love bondage."

Ben snickered before he juddered his body side to side, scooting the chair rearward until my head slipped off his thighs and down to the hard floor with a whack. That is the second time in a week that I got my forehead bashed in! Now all I need is a pissed off pregnant vornskr shoved into the room and I would have successfully recreated last week's painful debacle. With a groan I managed to roll to my side so my face wasn't painfully planted against the cold tile.

"Well, that didn't work." Ben remarked.

"You think?" I struggled at my bonds frantically at I gazed at the cold, dusty floor. "Gods I hope there aren't any spiders around here."

Ben guffawed. "We're probably going to get killed and you are worried about spiders."

I jerked on the restrains until I saw blood where the plastic bands dug into my wrists. I turned my head so I could meet Ben's gaze. "Must I remind you that a few months ago I was traumatized by a kriff'n Sithspawn Rhak-skuri putting nightmarish arachnid images into my head."

Ben grimaced. "Sorry. I forgot what that dream singer did to you."

"Yeah, well, that's something I'll never forget."

And I wasn't exaggerating. I still have nightmares about the Rhak-Skuri that Ben and I encountered. It is a Sithspawn scorpion-like creature that exudes hallucinogenic pheromones that can drive a man mad. Luckily for us my son Marcus was trained by the H'drachi seers to read the time streams. He glimpsed our deadly predicament and sent my father to rescue us. I wonder if the seers foresaw out current dilemma or was the ysalamiri blocking them from observing our fate?

I heard a scuffing noise and looked over to see Ben shifting his body weight and scooting his chair toward a far corner.

"The ysalamiri is in the opposite corner," I reminded him.

"I know I'm trying to see if I can get out of its Force void bubble."

"Good idea. You do that and I'll see if I can get to it and take it out." I tried to move toward the ysalamiri, but now that the chair was on its side it was slow going. Ben had made it to the far corner by the time I moved only ten or fifteen centimeters. "Are you out of the bubble, Ben?"

"No. I still can't touch the Force. Unless we can break our bonds we have to hope the witches decided to let us go. At least they've continued to hide their identity. That is a good sign. It means they haven't decided to kill us."

"Yep, that's great." I said bitingly. I tried to move using my foot and hand pressed against the floor, but I couldn't get any leverage. I was almost relieved when I heard the door to the holding area open. I was hoping it was the leader of the witches, but instead it was his annoying bespectacled daughter and her male friend with the goggles.

The young female laughed when she saw Ben sitting in the corner of the room like a censured schoolboy and me lying on my side still firmly secured to an incredibly sturdy wooden chair.

"Oh, are you two no longer friends?" Her voice took on that maddening mocking tone that teenage girls master soon after their thirteenth birthday. She walked over to me and laid down on her side facing me, mirroring my position on the floor. She made a pouty face. "Did the big Jedi fall over and go boom."

Her male friend laughed before he came over and struggled to prop me upright. After a lot of grunting and groaning he succeeded in righting my chair. "Damn he's heavy."

"He's a big boy." She gave her friend a teasing smile before she once again sat on my lap. "Did you miss me stud?" I turned my head away, not wanting to encourage her. It was then I noticed her male friend didn't look too happy about her fawning all over me.

"You are going to get in trouble. Your dad told you to leave him alone."

She flipped her shoulder length blond hair away from her face as she smirked. "Jealous?"

A deep frown creased the young man's face. "No."

The teenager caressed my face with her fingers. "Liar."

Both witches jumped when a voice boomed out at the doorway. "Sissy! I told you to leave him alone!" The young girl's father stormed into the room, fists clenched, and shoulders hunched forward. He was still wearing full face knit mask but I could see the anger in his eyes and the snarl that twisted his lips.

She quickly jumped off my lap and stood next to me fidgeting. "I wasn't hurting him." She grinned as she looked over to me. "He's just so cute."

Her father folded his arms across his chest as he glared at his daughter. "I'm glad he meets your approval because the elders and I have come to a decision. The Jedi can live if they become part of our clan. You are officially betrothed to his one." He threw his thumb in my direction.

"What?" everybody but the clan leader cried out in unison.

"Daddy, I was just joking. I don't want to marry him." She glanced back to her goggle wearing friend who appeared heartbroken. I finally figured out this young girl's motive for her seductive manner. She was trying to make her male friend jealous…and it looks like she succeeded.

"What's wrong with the Jedi?" her father asked as he slapped a hand on my shoulder. "He is a huge, muscular man with strong facial features. He'll make fine breeding material."

The young lady's jaw went slack with shock. "Fine breeding material? Only if I wanted to give birth to a ten kilo baby!" She made a sound of disgust. "I hope you're joking." She motioned to the young man. "Come on Terk!"

The two moved to the exit. I noticed Terk gave the leader a sad backwards glance before he exited the room with the young lady. Her father closed the door behind them before turning back to Ben and me.

"Listen," I sputtered. "I am all for not getting killed, but I have to tell you, Ben and I are already married."

The large man cocked his head to the side questioningly. "You two are…mates?"

"What? What would give you that idea?" Ben choked out in surprise as he gazed toward the ceiling searchingly. "I don't know if you have security holovids in this room, but what happened earlier was an accident."

The man looked back and forth toward Ben and me. "What? We don't have security cameras in here. It's a supply room. What are you talking about?"

Ben blew out a relieved breath. "Nothing. When he said we are married he meant to two different women…sisters actually. We're married to women. We're already taken."

I saw a hint of a smile on the witch leader's lips. "That's okay, were polygamists."

"Yeah, but my wife isn't." I said emphatically. "I'm fairly sure if I bring a teenage witch home as my second wife my life span will be drastically reduced to a few minutes after the announcement. You might as well kill me now."

I could see his mouth draw to a thin line and his eyes harden. "As you wish." He then reached up and pulled off his mask revealing his face. I was expecting a brutish looking fellow to match his rough manner and booming voice, but I was surprised to find a clean-shaven man with pleasant unassuming looks, sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes. The only evidence that he was possibly dangerous was a slight scar running down his left cheek until it tapered off at his strong square jaw.

I steadied my nerves for what was coming next. Ben had said we were probably safe as long as they hid their identities…and now he was unmasked. He pulled a vibroblade out from a side sheath and activated it. "You don't want to marry my daughter, huh? Even if it means death?"

I blew out a nervous breath. "I won't betray my vows. Even if that means death."

He brought the vibroblade up and smiled. "I don't blame you. My daughter is truly a witch in every shape and form. I feel sorry for the man she marries." He carefully cut the bindings holding my right arm. I looked at my free hand in shock and then up to him. He smiled at my confusion. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you marry her...and we're not polygamists. I just wanted to put a little scare into my daughter. That poor boy she's with has had a crush on her since they were children…and she knows it. I can't stand how she teases him. I thought it would be nice to give her a taste of her own medicine." He stood back before cutting the other bindings. "I'm going to release you two and I want to talk like men. Do I have your word that you won't take this opportunity to attack me?"

I nodded. "I swear."

He looked over to Ben. "I promise also."

The leader grinned. "Good. You are obviously men who take their vows seriously." He cut my other hand loose. I rubbed my raw and chaffed wrists as he sliced away my leg bindings. "Besides, I have my men outside in case there's trouble." He stood and walked over to Ben and freed him from his bindings. "But I don't think I will have trouble with you two once we get a chance to talk." He offered Ben his hand. "I'm Jonnar. I'm the leader of…I guess you can call us the enforcers. My group ensures all witches obey the covenant."

Ben stood and shook his outstretched hand. "Ben Skywalker and my friend is Talon Tantiss."

Jonnar walked over and shook my hand before frowning at the small cuts and scraps on my wrist. "I'll get a medkit in here for you." He looked at my forehead where I'm sure a nasty looking lump was forming from my impromptu head dive into the floor. "Did my people do that to you?"

"No, I was trying to escape and toppled over in my chair." I looked over to the ysalamiri cage. "Don't worry about the medkit. I'll be able to start healing myself once I am away from the cage."

Jonnar nodded before opening the door of our makeshift prison. "Let's go to my office and talk."

Ben and I stepped into a corridor lined with heavily armed masked men. To my relief none of the weapons were pointed in my direction. As we moved further away from the ysalamiri I could feel the Force returning. It was as refreshing as a cool drink on a hot day. As we followed Jonnar we passed his daughter standing next to her male admirer. She looked at me warily, her face pale as she nervously bit her lower lip. She obviously believed her father's threat. I couldn't help myself-I looked her up and down before I smirked and gave her a playful wink. An expression of pure mortification crossed her face before she buried her head into her friend's shoulder. I wonder if her father will ever tell her that I opted for death over marriage? That should bring her teenage smugness down a notch.

Jonnar opened a door at the end of the hall and ushered us inside. He sat down at the head of a conference table and motioned for us to sit. Leaning back in his chair he stared at Ben for a long moment. "You father encountered a mind-witch on the planet Seidhkona, is that correct?"

Ben gave a nod of the head.

"He later killed her on the planet Tarnoonga."

Ben's lips drew to a tight line. "Yes."

"She was another one of our rogue witches. Another clan hunted her down and exiled her to Seidhkona. It was an uninhabited planet. My people thought she couldn't hurt anybody there. We didn't count on an Imperial exploratory team finding her…and later your father." He shifted in his seat and tapped his fingers on the table. "Although she had killed people we dislike meting out the death penalty when a witch feeds in the way nature intended. We are asking our kind to change our behavior in a substantial way and some witches cannot adapt. Killing her would be like killing you for breathing air. We exile our rogue witches to uninhabited but livable planets."

"I'm surprised that there are so many of you. We thought S'ybll—the witch my father encountered—was the last of her kind."

Jonnar's eyes closed briefly. "That's what we want people to believe. I don't know how many individuals you told about our existence, but I would like to reinforce the belief of our extinction." He looked to Ben and then me. "I would like your help in doing so."

Ben gazed at the man. "Do we have a choice?"

Jonnar laughed. "Matter of fact, you do." He gestured to the exit. '"You are free to walk out that door."

My eyes narrowed, suspicious of this easy out. "What's the catch?"

The witch leader shrugged. "No catch. The clan leaders have determined the damage is done. We assume you weren't dumb enough to go after a mind-witch without telling your superiors. Killing you will do nothing but make matters worse for my people. If I can't rectify this situation…then we are to scatter and hide." He ran a hand down his face and sighed. "We'll live like hunted neks once again."

I know his people abducted me, but I am starting to like this man. I am not fond of his daughter, but I remember how annoying Zylie was when she was a young teen. I guess annoying and teenage girls go hand-in-hand. I looked to Ben. "What do you think?"

He let out a slow and controlled breath. "I think we should hear him out."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Entry 16**_

Jonnar cleared his throat to speak but was interrupted by Ben.

"Before you start, I have to warn you. Once we moved away from the ysalamiri my parents might have sensed my presence. They could be on their way here. I really don't want any unneeded…complications. Will you allow me to contact them?"

The witch leader blew out a long, deep breath before he reached into his pocket, pulled out a comlink and tossed it to Ben. "I hope this isn't a trap. You said earlier that you don't kill innocent people. I know my people committed a crime by abducting you and you could demand justice for that wrong…but please keep in mind that if the existence of our species becomes known to the general public a galaxy-wide witch hunt may ensue. It could end up in genocide. Our kind has never been trusted and therefore, to most people, the only good witch is one with a blasterbolt in his head. I trust you, Jedi. I hope my faith in the Jedi Order hasn't condemned my species to extinction."

"If what you say is true, you have nothing to fear from the Jedi." Ben keyed on the comlink and punched in the proper code for his father and pushed the send button. The call was answered almost immediately.

 _'Ben!'_ came the panicked voice of Luke Skywalker.

"Hey dad, I just…"

 _'Thank the Force you're alive. When you disappeared in the Force your mom and I thought the worse.'_

Luke's comlink must have been abruptly grabbed out of his hand because the voice of Mara Jade Skywalker replaced his. _'Ben! What happened? Are you alright?'_

"I'm fine Mom, don't worry."

I leaned over to the comlink and said sardonically, "I'm okay also Aunt Mara…you know…just in case you were interested."

 _'Thank the Force._ ' I don't think my aunt picked up on my sarcasm. All I heard in her voice was relief _. 'Where are you? Did you capture the witch?'_

Ben chuckled. "Not exactly. We sort of got captured."

 _'How did a witch capture two Jedi?'_

Ben looked at me and smirked. "Well, Talon was my backup. That put me at a disadvantage."

I punched him in the shoulder.

Luke's voice came back on the comlink. _'Where are you? We'll come get you.'_

"Dad, give us about an hour. We're safe. I didn't want you tracking us down and coming in with lightsabers blazing. Talon and I are doing negotiations with a group of people pertaining to the mind-witch."

 _'What exactly is your status?'_

"Our status is optimal." That was a term used to reassure the Jedi that we were not under duress. If Ben answered with anything else it would be an indicator that we couldn't talk freely.

There was a long pause before Luke spoke again. _'An hour?'_

Ben looked to Jonnar who nodded. "An hour should be fine. We'll call you then." He turned off the comlink and handed it back to Jonnar. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." He dropped the comlink in his pocket before clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. "We can discuss how we are going to handle the knowledge of our existence a little later. My foremost concern is finding my rogue witch. I think you two can help me find her."

I smirked knowing what was coming next. "You want to use us as bait?"

Jonnar leaned back in his seat and spread his hands out in a gesture acknowledging my statement. "Witches are highly attracted to strong Force users. I assume she accosted you earlier and that was the reason you were following her."

Ben nodded. "She tried to make me think she was my wife and lure me away from the dance club I was in. We tried to catch her but she got way."

"How did you eventually find her?" Jonnar asked.

Ben shifted in his seat looking uncomfortable. "You are not going to like this, but we contacted the local authorities and were provided security recordings from the club and the public areas."

Jonnar groaned as he dropped his head in his hand. "The police know about us."

"I don't think you need to worry. They never heard of a mind-witch and thought we were simply looking for some dangerous Force user. I doubt they will even ask us for an update on our investigation."

Jonnar nodded. "That's good." He looked up at us excitedly. "Do you know where she lives?"

Ben nodded. "We know what building and where she works, but I doubt she will return to those locations now that she knows she's hunted by Jedi and an enforcer group of witches."

"We can request updated security vids," I said. "We run them through face recognition software. Maybe we can determine where she went to ground. It should be simple enough to find and capture her."

Jonnar shook his head. "Capturing her will be anything but simple. She had to know her disobedience would be discovered and we would come for her. I suspect she has been feeding, gorging herself on the life-forces of others, to get stronger. A mind-witch can do more than illusions. We have strong psychokinetic abilities. She will try to feed again so she can fend us off. Since we don't feed normally, she knows we live in a weakened condition." He looked over to Ben. "She will want to gain power as quickly as possible. She will want to feed off of a Jedi."

"I guess we need to go back to reviewing public surveillance video," Ben said while standing. "Unless you want to talk about something else."

The man shook his head. "I'll have one of my men retrieve your weapons and I will give you a ride to wherever you were staying."

He stood and walked to the door, opening it and ushering us into the corridor. Outside was his daughter holding onto Terk's arm possessively. Both had removed their disguises and I couldn't help but notice a huge grin on the young man's face. When the leader's daughter saw her father she rushed up to him pulling Terk with her. "Daddy, I can't marry your Jedi. Terk and I are dating and I want to be with him."

I didn't think Terk's grin could get wider but he somehow managed. It looks like the boy got all of his holiday wishes answered today. Through the Force I could feel his underlying joy over the situation.

Jonnar scowled at the couple as he moved his arms out to his side, his fists balancing on his hips. "Oh, you are, huh? When did this happen?"

Before his daughter could answer Terk jumped into the conversation. "Sir, I have been in love with your daughter for a very long time. I beg you not to marry her off to a…" He gave me a scornful look. "…stranger and a man who is not of our kind. You and I both know Human/Witch hybrids are often sterile. I would assume you would want grandchildren and a continuation of your bloodline."

The elder man scoffed. "You make a lot of assumptions." He turned to his daughter. "Do you feel the same way about Terk?"

The girl looked at the boy and smiled softly. "Yes father. Please allow us to court one another and forget this forced betrothal."

Jonnar made a great production at contemplating her daughter's suggestion. He rubbed his hand over his jaw before making his decision. "I will allow it, _IF_ you truly care for him." He walked over and put a hand on Terk's shoulder while gazing at his daughter. "Don't put his heart at risk. I discovered the Jedi are both married, Therefore your betrothal is off. Do not enter into a relationship with Terk unless you truly mean it."

I almost laughed when I saw the crestfallen look on Terk's face. I am fairly certain he was convinced his chance at romance with Sissy was only because she wanted to get out of an engagement. I was relieved when she turned to Terk and said, "I'm sure, Dad."

Jonnar waved the young couple off. "Fine." Before they could leave the father grabbed the boy by the shoulder and gave him an evil glare. "She's only seventeen. Go slow and keep your pants on."

"Daddy!" the girl shouted in disgust before she grabbed Terk by the arm and pulled him down the hall and away from her father.

He turned to us and smiled broadly. "I like that boy. She better treat him right." He turned and spotted one of his men down the hall. "Kaken! Retrieve the Jedi's lightsabers and blasters."

He motioned us to follow him down the hall. Before we reached the exit his man Kaken ran up to us and held out our weapons. Ben and I holstered our blasters and and clipped our lightsabers to our belts.

Jonnar pushed open a pair of large double doors leading out to the street. We were following behind him when he suddenly stopped causing me to actually bump into his broad back. "It's a good thing I let you call your parents, Jedi Skywalker."

Ben and I looked around Jonnar to see Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker on the sidewalk leaning against a rented speeder. Luke made a production of looking at his wrist chrono. "You had forty minutes before we came in."

Mara ran up to Ben and gave him a warm hug. "We were worried sick." She looked up to Jonnar, her eyes narrowing. "Are you the man who kidnapped our Jedi?"

"Ahhh…"Jonnar cleared his throat, but didn't continue what he was going to say. Instead he stood very still. He didn't run or reach for his weapon, but I could tell he wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "You are safe. I promise you." I smiled at my Aunt. "His people captured us, but we were treated well."

She stepped away from Ben and gazed at me intently. "Then why does your forehead have a huge upraise welt and is turning black-and-blue?"

I made a face, not wanting to tell her this story. "I sort of did that to myself. I had a little accident."

Mara rolled her eyes. "Of course."

Ben turned and motioned toward Jonnar. "This is Jonnar. He was hunting the same witch as we were. Our capture was a misunderstanding that was quickly resolved. He wants us to work together to capture the witch that is killing people."

I notice my uncle's brow rose incredulously.

Ben must have also noticed his father's disbelief. "It's true Dad. Can we go somewhere to talk?"

Jonnar threw a thumb in the direction of the building we just left. "You can come to my office if you like."

The Grand Master shook his head. "Why don't we go to our ship?" His brow furrowed as he gazed at the building. "I sense more than one witch inside."

"We have a group of eighteen. Probably ten are inside now."

"Eighteen witches!" Mara gasped. "So many?"

Jonnar laughed. "We are more numerous that that." He gestured towards Ben. "Your son says you don't slay innocent people…and my people are innocent of murder. I want to avoid the genocide of my people. I am hoping we can work with the Jedi in capturing rogue witches, but also figure out a way to ensure the safety of my people."

My uncle stared at Jonnar for a long moment. I believe he was trying to judge the veracity of his words. He must have passed muster because my uncle nodded and gestured to the speeder. "Get in. I look forward to hearing this story."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Entry 17**_

My aunt and uncle did a soft interrogation on Jonnar while in the speeder. The man was open to discussing just about anything except the number of witches in the galaxy and their locations. That is understandable. When a race is nearly wiped out one cannot afford to risk the lives of the surviving members. I knew Jonnar could trust the Skywalkers, but with my Uncle Luke being the last person known to kill a witch, I don't fault the man for being distrustful.

I am fairly sure my uncle and aunt were not going to take Jonnar's story at face value either, but the fact that he could have killed me and Ben and did everything possible to avoid that possibility made me believe he was exactly who he says he is.

We arrived to the docking bay and parked the speeder next to the _Jade Shadow_. As the ship's ramp lowered I could feel Jonnar's anxiety increase. He kept looking around nervously, searching for something.

The Grand Master smiled. "Your friends are here. Hanging out in the fringes." He started to climb up the boarding ramp and waved for us to follow. "You must be a well-respected leader. Your people are very concerned for your safety."

Jonnar gave a curt bob of the head. "I sensed them out there. I didn't order them to follow me."

Luke led us to the galley where Ben and I slid into a booth seat with Jonnar sitting across from us. My uncle sat at the end of the table. "Feel free to call them or invite one or two in if that makes you feel more comfortable."

"I'll tell them to stand fast and don't do anything reckless." He pulled a comlink out of his pocket and activated it. "Rokey?"

After a couple seconds we heard a voice over the speaker. "Here boss."

"I know you're out there. I'm safe. Keep a leash on the others. I don't want anybody doing something stupid…again"

"Can we do periodic comlink checks on you, boss?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure you will sense if I am under duress way before I miss a comcheck."

"Affirmative. Rokey out."

The witch put his comlink back into his pocket and then folded his hands on the table. "So, let's discuss business. I would like to keep the existence of my people as secret as possible. Do you have to make an official report to the Galactic Alliance? I don't want Chief-of-State Mokk Streke to go on a genocidal campaign to wipe my people out. I don't trust the man."

My Aunt Mara gave a snort as she sat down next to my uncle at the table. "If Streke is going to go on a warpath the Jedi will probably be his first target. He probably would trust a mind-witch over a Jedi any day."

My aunt is right. The chief-of-state has repeatedly professed anti-Jedi rhetoric. He even has my father on his watch list. For some reason the Chief-of-State thinks my father is secretly working with the Jedi Order and the Indupar monarchy in an effort to overthrow the Galactic Alliance. Which is nonsense…I think. My dad is definitely not working for the Jedi, but I am not quite sure the reasons behind the impressive build up of military forces on Indupar. I hope my son, King Marcus, is the driving force and not the H'drachi seers. I'd hate to think the seers have foreseen a war.

Jonnar and my Aunt continued to talk through my musings as I became acutely aware that I haven't eaten or used the 'fresher since I was stunned in the alley. I stood and excused myself.

After relieving my bladder I went to the galley to find something to eat. There I bumped into my Aunt getting drinks for the group.

"Aunt Mara. You said earlier you thought we were dead when we blinked out in the Force. Did you notify my family? If so, do they know I'm alright?"

She turned and gazed at me intently, one eyebrow raised slightly. "We contacted your father and told him our concerns. We thought there was a possibility that something was blocking the Force such as a ysalamiri. We asked him to come to Kuat because of his immunity to the animal's effects but he demurred."

I frowned at that statement. "My father demurred?"

My aunt obviously misunderstood my confusion. "It means balked or objected."

"I know what demurred means. I just don't understand why my father wouldn't offer to help you."

She shrugged. "I don't understand why your father does what he does anymore. All I know is I told him you were missing and possibly dead and he wasn't concerned. He said you and Ben would turn up eventually. Why would you father do that?"

I cleared my throat and glanced away. I was fairly certain my son was monitoring the time stream and let him know Ben and I were in no danger. Although my aunt and uncle are aware of the existence of the H'drachi seers they are unaware at their accuracy or the fact that I have a son who is a seer in training. I couldn't tell Aunt Mara that, so I simply lied. "I guess my father is confident in my abilities."

She scoffed as she placed the drinks on a tray to carry out to the eating area. "Is that the story you're going with?" She picked the tray laden with fizz drinks before shaking her head and giving me a disappointed look. "One day I'm going to figure out the secret."

My jaw dropped in shock. "What secret?"

"I don't know. That's why I said one day I will figure it out. I do know you and your father are hiding something….something big. And what really bothers me and your uncle is you don't trust us with the knowledge."

I looked around to make sure Jonnar couldn't hear our conversation. "Aunt Mara my family doesn't have any secrets involving the Jedi or the Galactic Alliance except for the cover up involving Jacen and his brush with the darkside. There _are_ things I haven't told you but they are family issues and confidences. I think even Jedi deserve some family privacy."

Her green eyes bore into mine, but I refused to flinch. Finally she gave me a nod. "Fair enough." She left, leaving me in the galley to forage for food. I found some cold cuts and bread and made myself a sandwich before snatching a cold fizz drink out of the cooling unit. When I returned to the galley I found the Skywalker family laughing and joking with Jonnar like he was an old friend. For a moment I wondered if the mind-witch was projecting some soothing illusion to put my family at ease, but quickly dismissed the possibility. The Grand Master was on high alert and would pick up any type of mind tricks.

I slid into my seat just as the four burst out in laughter. "What's so funny?"

My uncle grinned at me. "Jonnar told us the story about your fake betrothal to his daughter and how you said you would rather face death because Zylie would do worse to you if you showed up with a second wife."

I blushed as I took a sip of my fizz drink. "Zylie would send her Vornskr to eat me."

My aunt chuckled before she turned her attention back to Jonnar. "You said your wayward witch is named Lita? How long have you been searching for her?"

The large man counted on his fingers. "Almost two weeks. We don't have access to public security holos to narrow our search. We mostly roam around the city and try to sense her presence. When we do we call in the swoop bike with the ysalamiri and try to get her within its Force void. That makes it easier to subdue her without violence. She knows banishment to an uninhabited planet will be her punishment and she will fight to the death to prevent that." He leaned back in his chair and gave us a sad smile. "We are a very social species. To be left in isolation is often a fate worse than death."

My Aunt Mara found humor in his words. "You're a social species because you need people to feed. Wont she slowly starve on an isolated planet?"

He shook his head. "She is capable of sustaining her body with food like you do…it's just…the craving for the taste of a life force is always there. Even now, I'm having problems being around you. I'm like an alcoholic at a wine festival." He glanced around the table. "Everything looks so tasty."

I gave a shudder at the sound of his voice. "Jonnar, do you realize how creepy that sounds."

He chuckled with a blush. "Sorry. I've never been around so many Jedi. It's almost like I can taste your life essence in the air." He shook his head. "I shouldn't stay too long. The craving becomes almost like a physical pain. I can understand why Lita pursued you."

Uncle Luke gave a sympathetic nod of his head. "Understandable. How do you want to proceed?"

The mind-witch ran his thick fingers through his hair as he thought about the question. "Why don't you go back to looking at security vids and let us know if you located her. We'll take over from there. Meanwhile I'll leave a few people to stake out your ship. She might try to lure you away once more. Four strong Jedi in one area has to be alluring."

Ben frowned. "Do you trust your people not to decide to break into our ship for a midnight snack?"

He spread his hands in an _'I don't know'_ gesture. "My people are trained, but we don't know what causes witches to go rogue. I assume it is just like any other addiction. They cross the line and draw too much life force at any one time and then they get addicted to the high. Mind-witches are just as prone to addiction as any human would be around alcohol or spice. I would hope their training would keep them from straying…but you never know." He looked at the four of us. "Can any one of you tell me for sure you would never fall to the darkside?" He looked my uncle straight in the eye. "Are you one-hundred percent confident that your Jedi would never stray?"

The Grand Master nodded slowly. "That is a good point. Hopefully we won't have a problem. We will go to the Public Security office tomorrow and try to find her using the facial recognition software. Can we contact you on the comlink number Ben used earlier?"

"Yes, he used my comlink."

Luke and Mara stood and reached over the table to shake Jonnar's hand. "I'm glad we had a chance to meet and talk." Uncle Luke looked toward Ben and then me. "Thank you for keeping a cool head and not harming Ben and Talon. I realize the discovery of your people's existence is troubling…especially knowing my history with mind-witches. I would never condone the genocide of a people and I fully support your efforts to capture homicidal witches. With your skill at illusions, perhaps we can work together in the future on different types of missions. You have a skill that would come in handy when it comes to Jedi Sentinel missions…which is basically law enforcement and undercover work." He pointed to Ben. "That is my son's specially."

Jonnar looked to me. "And what is your specialty? Your friend said you were a Void Jumper."

"I'm a Jedi Guardian, like my father was before me. We are the warrior class. I mainly do combat missions."

He looked me up and down. "That figures. You got the build and the intelligence of a grunt."

"Thanks," I said with a smile, but then wondered if that was a backhanded compliment. When I saw my aunt smirk I was positive Jonnar wasn't praising my intellect.

He smiled at my aunt and uncle. "I will wait for your call."

He exited the ship and disappeared around a corner where I suspect one of his people was waiting with a swoop bike or speeder.

Uncle Luke closed the ship and locked it up tight. "We might as well get some rest. You have a long day of watching security vids tomorrow."

I inwardly groaned at the prospect. "I would rather wander around town and hope to attract Lita."

"Sure," Ben said sarcastically. "We can put you in an undershirt that says _'One-hundred percent pure Jedi'_ on one side and _'Taste the difference'_ on the other."

"How about a shirt that just says ' _Bite me'_ , this way I can wear it around you when you get obnoxious."

"Children, please stop fighting," My aunt said with a roll of her eyes. "I don't know how your wives tolerate you two."

I gave a big shavit-eating grin. When I opened my mouth to talk my aunt's hand popped up in a halting motion. "I don't want to hear it."

My face dropped. "But it's a great come back."

She laughed. "I bet it is. I also know it's probably disgusting." She walked over to my uncle and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I think we all need to get some rest before tomorrow." My uncle grinned as they walked down into the corridor and disappeared into their cabin.

I turned to Ben. "They're not going to sleep, are they?"

He rolled his eyes. "Probably not for a while."

I gave a shiver. Those two were in their sixties and still doing mattress gymnastics. Yuck.

This is going to be a long night.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Entry 18**_

I woke up early the next morning tired and blurry eyed having not slept well the night before. I had been up for the last hour staring at the ceiling and trying to will myself to sleep, but to no avail. I reluctantly got out of the bunk, threw on my clothes and weapons and went out to the ship galley to get some caf. There I found Ben sitting at the dining table sipping what looked like hot chocolate.

I dropped down in the seat across from him. "Ben, please tell me that your parents like playing late night handball against their cabin wall."

"You mean the wall that their bed headboard it butted up against?" He took another sip of his drink and then smirked. "I guess it depends on your definition of hand ball."

I groaned as I dropped my head down to the tabletop. "How did you get any sleep as a child?"

Ben chuckled. "I didn't. Why do you think I have two younger brothers and a sister?"

"I'm surprised you don't have twenty siblings." I looked at what he was drinking. "I didn't think you had the same beverage tastes as your father?"

He put down the cup and shook his head. "They're out of caf."

"What! How am I going to watch boring surveillance holos without my morning stimulant?"

Ben gave a shrug. "Maybe there will be caf at the station."

I cringed. "I tried their caf. I think a semi-sentient simian possessing zero taste buds made the coffee the last time I was there. It had a grainy texture and a fishy taste to it."

Ben chuckled. "The station commander is a Calamarian. That might explain it."

I propped my head up with my arm as I tried to stay awake. "Do you have any stimchews?"

Ben shook his head. "Sorry. I did see a vending machine outside in the hanger bay. It might have some."

"Great." I put my hands on the table and pushed myself up into a standing position. "Do you want anything?"

"No. You never know how long the stuff has been in the machine."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I walked to the back of the ship, lowered the ramp and exited. It was early enough in the morning that the docking bay was quiet. It helped that we were in the long term bays where people parked their ships for extended stays. Rarely is there a lot of traffic in the weeklong ship berths.

I looked up and down the line of ships but didn't see any vending machines. I walked down the concourse, gazing down the corridor off shoots. I could sense Jonnar's men lurking about. He said he was going to leave somebody behind to keep an eye on us. I looked around and spied somebody familiar at the far end of the bay. It was Terk. He raised a hand in greeting before his new girlfriend Sissy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the shadows.

"Wonderful," I muttered sarcastically. "I bet those two aren't doing surveillance as much as practicing full body searches and pat downs."

I finally located the vending machine halfway down an empty passageway. I stood at the machine scrutinizing the assortment of treats until I found stimchews on the bottom row. I pulled out some low denominational credits and paid for the chews causing giant coil to turn. It was supposed to knock the purchased item out to the bottom of the machine…but the stimchews got stuck. I swear these machines are probably made by corporations that also make money on anger management classes. Each year some unfortunate soul is crushed by a vending machine that they rocked a little too hard in an attempt to dislodge some unhealthy snack. Luckily for me, I'm a Jedi. I made a wave of my fingers and knocked the chews free using the Force. The Masters often lecture us not to use the Force for trivial purposes...but I don't see this as a trivial, since it is preventing me from going all darkside on this stupid machine.

Before I could reach down and grab the chews, I heard a sweet sensual voice call out my name. "Talon." I turned and smiled widely at the sight of my heart-stopping gorgeous wife. Gods! She looked so good in what she was wearing. It was a dress I've never seen before-a form hugging sundress that showcased all her wonderful womanly assets. She smiled sensuously as she walked toward me, her dark silky hair swirling around her shoulders with every step.

"Zylie," I said surprised. "You're back early. I guess the trade run went well."

She cozied up in front of me and stood on her toes to capture my lips with hers. "It went faster than expected."

"Yeah it did. How was Ryloth?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth I realized there was no way her and Valla could have made it to Ryloth and back in such a short time. Perhaps they did a different run for Karrde's corporation.

"Ryloth had good weather." She put her arms around me and gave a sultry grin. "I missed you."

"You missed me?" I whispered softly remembering the safe word system that Zylie set up before we left. We were supposed to say the exact opposite of what we actually felt. Of course I told her that wouldn't work because I thought witches could read minds…but my time with Jonnar made me question that belief. I began shielding my thoughts through the Force, but just in case this was an exceptionally proficient mind-reading witch disguised as my wife, I decided to keep my mind occupied as much possible by thinking of pink Rancors.

 _'Pink Rancors, Pink Rancors,'_ I thought to myself before I posed my next question to Zylie. "So you miss me? Do you remember what we talked about before we left?" I gave her my best come-hither look to throw her suspicions off as I silently repeated my mantra: _'Pink Rancors, pink Rancors, pink Rancors.'_ I slowly put my hand on my blaster and made sure it was on stun. I was seventy percent certain this was not my Zylie. I would know after she answered my question.

Her smile faded a little but she quickly answered. "What we talked about? Do you mean how much I love you and how I can't wait to make love to my handsome stud when I returned."

That was it. This is not Zylie…unless she didn't really love me and she didn't want to have sex with me because she thought I was ugly and impotent.

 _'Oh crap, I'm not thinking of pink Rancors!'_ I thought to myself. Already I could see her smile slip as she tried to take a step away from me, but it was too late. With the speed of a skilled Jedi Guardian I unholstered my blaster and stunned my wife's twin. As I squeezed the trigger I prayed that I hadn't make a mistake… that Zylie didn't forgot our plan.

As the blaster bolt hit my wife's lookalike her appearance began to alter as she slipped into unconscious. I was greatly relieved to find our rogue witch passed out at my feet. I pulled my comlink out of my pocket and called Ben.

"Ben! Get you parents! I got the witch. I'm outside!"

"I hear you," came his surprised response.

The sound of running echoed down the corridor and I caught sight of Terk and Sissy swiftly approaching. "You got Lita!" Terk sounded impressed. I laughed when I saw the young man's face. It was covered with lipstick imprints. "Yep, I got the witch…and it looks like a witch got you."

"Huh."

Sissy looked to her boyfriend and quickly tried to wipe the lipstick off his face with the end of her tunic sleeve.

I heard a commotion behind me and turned to see Ben and his parents jogging to my position. They looked like they dressed in a hurry. Luke still had his sleep pants on under his Jedi tunic. My Aunt Mara had what looked like a sleep shirt on under a bathrobe. At least they had the forethought to grab their lightsabers.

My former master smiled widely with an expression I usually don't see from her…pride. "Good work. Did she just walk up to you?"

"She came to me as Zylie, but she didn't fool me for a second." I said excitedly. "I knew it wasn't her when she said she missed me, loved me and couldn't wait to make love to me. Once she said that—pow! I shot her."

My aunt and uncle looked at each other in confusion. "What? Wait. What…" Mara didn't finish that thought. She waved me off as she went to check on the unconscious witch. "Never mind. I've learned long ago never ask a Tantiss man a question that I might not want an answer to. Let's get her into the ship." She grabbed the woman's boots as Ben and Luke each put an arm under her torso. "If you and Zylie are having problems that it is none of my business."

As they carried the woman to the ship I tried to explain. "It's not that Aunt Mara. She didn't know Zylie's safe word."

I could hear Ben give a snort.

"Not a safe word, safe word," I clarified. It is more like a safe sentence."

Mara shook her head as they carried the stunned woman up the ship's loading ramp. "You are not making things sound better, Talon."

Ben turned to me and grinned. "But it does sound interesting."

I decided to drop the subject. "What are we going to do with her?"

Luke looked back to me as they brought the woman into my cabin. "We're going to stuncuff her to your bed." A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "Do you have a pair of cuffs or did you leave them on the _Vazy Princess?"_

I glowered at my uncle. "No I don't have any."

They dropped the woman onto my bunk none to gently. "That's okay Talon. I have a pair in my cabin," my aunt said dryly as she walked out of the room.

I gave a shudder not wanting to know why they have stuncuffs in their cabin…but knowing my aunt she probably has stuncuffs, neural disruptors, a shocker stick and a thermal detonator in her nightstand just for personal protection.

Terk and Sissy came up behind me. "We contacted my father. He's bringing the Ysalamiri and backup."

I turned to Terk. "Do you know what planet you are going to dump her on?"

Terk nodded. "Jonnar has two planets picked out…but I'm not supposed to give out that information. You'll have to ask him yourself." He put his arm around Sissy and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. He then looked at me sadly. "Hey, sorry things aren't going well between you and your wife."

"I'm not having problems with my wife!" I shook my head in frustration, but decided not to argue the point. I left the witch to Ben and Luke as I trudged off to the galley. I knew there was only hot chocolate, but maybe I could find some Corellian whiskey to go into it.

Maybe with enough whiskey I would actually get some sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Entry 19**_

Jonnar and a number of his enforcers showed up with a ysalamiri before the rogue witch woke up. That is a good thing because it made it easier for them to smuggle her out of the ship and into a speeder.

As his men loaded the murderous witch into their vehicle Jonnar searched me out to say goodbye. He found me leaning against the galley bulkhead drinking juice and wishing it was caf. "Good work on capturing my felonious witch," he said while holding out his hand. I grasped it and gave a firm shake. "I guess Lita didn't count on you having troubles with your wife."

I dropped my hand and frowned. I was about to correct him on that mistaken belief when he laughed and gave me a dismissive wave. "I'm joking. Ben told me you had some type of password system with your wife. That is good thinking on your wife's part."

I gave him an irritated gaze as I put my drink down on the counter. "Why do you think it was her idea and not mine?"

He gave a shrug. "I'm sorry, was it your idea?"

I glared at him. "No, it was hers."

He laughed before reaching out and giving my shoulder a squeeze. "I'm not insinuating you don't have the intelligence or foresight to think up such a precaution. When Ben told me what happened with him and Lita, I was certain your wife would want to ensure you didn't have the same scam pulled on you. Women are protective of their men when it comes to another woman trying to poach her husband." He dropped his hand and smiled warmly. "I'm thankful that you, Ben and his parents were so understanding about the situation and not seeking retribution for my men kidnapping you. It is refreshing to have people treat us like any other sentient and not as something that should be eradicated."

I gave a chuckle. "Thank you for not killing us when you had the chance…or making me marry your daughter."

Jonnar gave out a booming laugh as he gave my shoulder a friendly slap. "You're alright." He threw a thumb in the direction of the ships boarding ramp. "Your Jedi friends are outside and are making sure Lita is secured. I just wanted to thank you in person."

He turned and moved down the boarding ramp and out of the ship. I followed behind and watched as he said his goodbyes to the Skywalkers. He then jumped into his speeder, signaled his comrades to move out before taking off down the large docking bay corridor.

Luke and Mara looked incredibly relieved at his departure. "Ugh. I forgot how much I dislike being in an ysalamiri Force void," my uncle said.

My aunt gave him a nudge of her shoulder and a grin. "I don't know. It brings back fond memories of the first time we met on Myrkr."

He shook his head. "The first time we met was on Candoras."

My Aunt Mara gave a roll of the eyes. "That doesn't count. I didn't know who you were back then. Plus, I didn't even remember that meeting until you reminded me years later."

Luke gave a deep frown of mock disappointment. "I'm sorry I didn't make a lasting impression on you, but I guess I am guilty of not noticing you the second time we met while on Tatooine." He gave a chuckle as the two moved toward the ship with Ben and me following a couple paces behind.

"We really didn't meet on Tatooine," my aunt insisted. "I just watched you make a fool out of yourself before dropping into a Rancor pit." She grinned. "And please don't tell me that was part of your master plan." She laughed with a shake of the head. "No, now that I think about it…it probably was part of your strategy. I have never seen anybody plan out such a convoluted rescue that had so many variables that could have easily gone wrong." She leaned in and kissed Luke on the cheek. "The ysalamiri reminds me of you lying in bed, drugged, unconscious and at my mercy."

"Wait are we talking about when we were on Myrkr or last week."

"Dad!" Ben groaned. "I know you are joking, but that is just a disturbing thought."

Luke chuckled. "Yeah…I was just joking." He reached the top of the boarding ramp and pressed the button to close up the ship. As we moved through the cargo deck to the crew area my uncle turned and grinned at us. "Good work you two. Nobody was hurt or killed in her apprehension and you got a murder off the street. Jonnar let me know how to contact him if we ever think we have another out-of-control witch or if we ever need their help. They are experts at illusions. They could be helpful in some missions. He wants to assure good working relations with the Jedi in the future. Now we just have to figure out how to get you two back to your wives."

Ben smiled. "I heard from Zylie and Valla. They finished up on Ryloth and are on their way back."

"Do you want to meet them half way? Your mother and I can give you a ride."

"No, they have to come by here for their next run anyway. Talon and I can get a hotel room for a couple days."

Mara shook her head adamantly. "No way. We don't have to get back to Coruscant any time soon. We'll stay here until their arrival. You can stay with us. I would like to spend some time with you two and also see my daughter-in-law and Zylie."

Ben looked to me questioningly. "Are you okay with that?"

I nodded. "Sure."

As my aunt and uncle wandered off toward the flight deck I leaned over toward Ben and whispered a plea. "Please switch cabins with me."

Ben laughed caustically. "No way. The only thing worse than overhearing senior citizens having sex is hearing your senior citizen parents having sex." He gave a shudder. "We can still get a hotel room if you want."

I groaned. "And have to explain to them why? No. I'll just take my blaster and stun myself at bedtime."

"I'll stun you if you want." He walked to the galley and reached to the back of a high cabinet before pulling out a bottle of Corellian whiskey. "Or maybe this will help. It is Uncle Han's stash."

I smiled broadly. I usually don't drink, but desperate times call for desperate measures.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Entry 20**_

It was early morning when Ben banged on my cabin door. "Hey Talon! The _Vazy Princess_ just docked. They're located two buildings over in the large freighter bay."

"Be out in a minute!" I quickly dressed and met my cousin out in the corridor. It looks like he just rolled out of bed minutes before I did. His red hair was disheveled, his tunic wrinkled and I could see beard stubble surrounding his wide grin. I looked around the ship. "Are your parents awake?"

He shook his head. "I left them a message telling them we will stop by with our wives at lunch. Let's go."

"Let me brush my teeth. I want to give her a huge kiss when I see her."

"Hurry up."

I quickly cleaned up and followed Ben out of his parents' ship and down the quiet docking bay corridors. As we left the long term berthing structure and headed toward the oversize freighter bays the movement and voices of hundreds of various species started to fill the area. Fueling and repair droids rolled from ship-to-ship as pilots made their way to various restaurants that serviced the space travelers. At the very last berthing slot we saw our ship. The entry ramp was down and I spied Valla walking around the exterior of the ship doing her post-flight inspection. Ben ran to her and grabbed her up in his arms eliciting a shout of joy from his wife. As they fell into an ardent embrace I rushed up the ramp to find Zylie.

I caught her dragging Princess out of our cabin by the collar and moving her to the cargo area. She gave me an apologetic look as she greeted me. "I'll just be a second Talon. I am going to lock up Princess so she doesn't attack you."

I gave an irritated grunt. I dislike Zylie treating that beast the same as a lovable pittin and allowing it to sleep at the foot of our bed when I am not around. She coaxed the animal into the cargo bay but not before it gave me a sinister growl and a toothy snarl.

She closed the door and turned around grinning enthusiastically before she ran up to me and pulled me into a long, lusty kiss. "I love you," she said as she leaned back.

I frowned. I know this has to be Zylie, but she obviously forgot our code. Stang! If she did show up on Kuat two days early I may have stunned her with a blasterbolt.

She noticed my reaction and stepped back. "What's wrong?"

I chuckled. "What about your safe word system?"

She looked confused for a moment before her eyes went wide with understanding. "Oh yeah...say the opposite of what I feel or believe. I forgot all about that."

I scoffed. "Well I didn't. I was approached by that murderous witch while she was looking just like you and when she said she missed me I stunned her cute Zylie-look-alike butt."

She smiled widely. "Ben told me you caught her, but he didn't tell me how." She smirked. "She obviously didn't look much like me."

I shook my head. "She looked exactly like you. It was the secret code you made up that convinced me she wasn't you."

"Well," she said with a devious smile. "I don't want you to have any doubts about my identity." She put her hands on her hips and glared at me with a mock look of indignation. "Talon Tantiss! I can't tell you how much I didn't miss you while we were apart! I can't stand being around you! And I certainly don't want to have sex with you!"

I laughed as I went in to kiss her. "I'm convinced."

She pushed me away and continued her fake tirade. "Don't touch me with those…non-sensual hands of yours….you, you ugly, unkempt, ill-hung, out-of-shape peace of Bantha skat! I don't know why I married you! You have horrible hygiene and you are lousy in bed!"

Okay, I know she is doing the opposite of what she really feels, but she appears to be having way too much fun with this charade.

"What's going on guys?" It was Ben's concerned voice calling out from behind me.

I closed my eyes in frustration before I turned and found my cousin standing at the top of the boarding ramp looking extremely troubled by my wife's words. I spread out my hands in an apologetic gesture before giving my cousin a cheesy grin. "Safe word exercise."

My cousin chuckled knowingly. "Oh! I'm sorry to interrupt. Go on Zylie. We can't be too careful when it comes to witches."

Zylie struggled to keep a straight face as she raked her gaze up and down my body. "I absolutely don't want you in my bed now or ever. I don't even think about running your hands up and down my body before making love to me for hours…because I that is something I detest."

"Okay," Ben groaned. "I think we have verified your identity, Zylie."

"No, I want to tell him how I hate his unimpressive pectorals, his flabby abdominal muscles and totally non-arousing butt. The only good thing I can say about Talon is he is humble. Humble about his looks and actions. He's the most humble man I know. But I guess a guy who is such a dud in bed probably should be humble."

Ben threw up his hands. "That's it, I'm out of here." He turned and exited the ship leaving me and Zylie alone. I pulled her into my embrace and kissed her soundly before I leaned back and smirked. "How's that."

She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing. "Awful."

I heaved a sigh and let my shoulder's slump. "I guess you are going to have to tutor me when it comes to improving my performance in the bedroom."

She grinned as she pulled me into another kiss. Her hazel eyes sparkled happily as she stepped back, took my hand in hers and guided me to our cabin. "It may take hours or days, but I will do my best to instruct you on how to satisfy a woman."

"It may take weeks," I said with a laugh as entered our cabin. "Or years!"

Ha! It's good to be home.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Entry 21**_

Later that day, we all had lunch with Ben's parents on the _Jade Shadow_. My Aunt Mara ordered food delivery consisting of an excellent Kuat stir-fried spiced beef with noodles. It was an overall relaxing afternoon until the Grand Master received a call from Corran Horn who was the acting head of the Jedi Council when my Uncle Luke was away. We were finishing up our meal when my Aunt went to answer the ship's subspace transceiver. Almost immediately she came back to get the Grand Master.

"Corran wants to give you a heads up on what the Chief-of-State got up to while we were off planet."

Uncle Luke made a face before he wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood from the dining table. "What is that idiot up to now?"

Mara shrugged. "He's probably having more paranoid delusions." She waved at the rest of us. "You might as well join us since it probably involves all Jedi."

Ben and I stood. Zylie gave a quick glance to her sister before she rose and followed. Valla decided to do the same.

We all crowded onto the flight deck and stared at the subspace transceiver video screen which was now occupied with the image of Corran Horn. The green eyed Jedi was rubbing his hand over his bearded face, something he always did when frustrated.

Luke sat down in the pilot's seat and gave a forced smile. "What happened now?"

Corran brought his hand back and massaged the muscles in his neck. "It may be nothing, but with Chief-of-State Mokk Streke it's probably something." Corran blew out a breath before continuing. "Streke pushed through the senate a bill that will finance another wing to the Coruscanti penitentiary. It is a five hundred bed faculty…and all cells are enclosed by Force cages."

Ben and I groaned when we heard the news. I am fairly sure we were all wondering if Streke was preparing for war with the Jedi.

Luke ran a hand through his blond hair and closed his eyes in annoyance. "How did he justify that?"

Corran shook his head sadly. "I hate to say this, but he has substantial proof of crimes where a Force user was believed to be the culprit."

"Can any of this be verified?" My aunt asked.

Corran nodded. "I've seen some of the security vids and unless they were tampered, it does look like the Force was involved in some of the crimes. There was evidence of levitation, mind tricks with guards and even Force shoves."

"No lightsabers?" Ben asked.

"No, there is no indication that these crimes were committed by Jedi. The criminals they managed to catch are not Jedi Knights or former students. I've looked at the statistics and it appears there has been an increase of crime by possible Force users over the last thirty-five years…dating back to the establishment of the Jedi Temple."

Luke moaned while pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger. He looked back up to Corran, his mouth stretched into a thin line. "Does anybody have any explanation? Wait…first tell me, what does Streke believe is happening."

"He thinks we are somehow involved in the increase of Force crimes…that we are trying to subvert his authority by making him look like an ineffectual leader…a person incapable of stemming the crime spree plaguing the capital."

Mara threw her hands up. "Of course he does. Never mind the fact that his own political bungling is the reason he looks like an ineffectual leader."

Luke regarded to Corran. "What do you think is the cause?"

The Jedi ran his fingers through his beard in thought. "I know we have a strict vetting process for Jedi candidates. They have to be nominated by a senator or territorial leader. They must get a letter of recommendation from a current Jedi Knight or Master and they have to do all of this on their home worlds. With that said, every year thousands of Jedi wannabes show up on the temple doorstep begging for a chance to be interviewed or tested."

"Walk-ins are never allowed," Luke sighed.

"True, but most of these young people have used every credit they've saved just to get to Coruscant. Once here they are turned away and stranded on the city-world. I think that may be the source of this increasing number of weak to marginal Force-using criminals." Corran gave a frustrated gesture. "If they don't have useful job skills they might resort to robbery or grifting."

Mara folded her arms across her body and glowered at the screen. "If that is true…there isn't anything the Jedi council can do about it. We can't stop people from traveling to Coruscant."

Corran threw his hands up in a sign of defeat. "And that is why Coruscant is now getting a five hundred unit penitentiary wing to hold Force-using offenders."

My uncle rubbed his thumbs against his temples. "The Jedi can't oppose the facility when there is documented evidence of its need. I guess we will just have to accept this."

Corran nodded in agreement. "Luke," Corran said slowly. "Streke's paranoia against the Jedi is becoming problematic. Already there are rumors that he is sowing the seeds of discontent among the senate and world leaders. I've seen more than one news report accusing the Jedi of corruption or other nefarious undertakings. It may be time to consider moving the Temple away from Coruscant."

My uncle didn't respond right away, when he did his voice held an unusual edge. "I think that is exactly what he wants…or what somebody else wants and is using Streke to make it happen. You saw the footage Corsec captured of him and an unknown person discussing the removal of the Jedi from Coruscant. Somebody wants us off the planet for a reason."

"True." Worry darkened Corran's expression. "But if he does decide to turn on the Jedi…it would be nice to be out of his reach."

Luke shook his head. "And go where? Any place within the Galactic Alliance is within his reach and any planet we relocate to will feel his wrath if he is so inclined to turn on the Jedi. I know Jacen and Tenel Ka have invited me to established sub-temples in the Consortium, but if I do that will it strain their relationship with the Alliance?"

"Emperor Fel would welcome us," My Aunt Mara said with a slight smirk.

My uncle laughed. "Go over to the Empire? I'm sure that wouldn't upset the Alliance," he said sarcastically. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. "No, just let things be for now. Something new will come up to distract the Chief-of-State."

"Maybe a shiny piece of metal or a pretty rock," my aunt said acerbically.

"Or Stygium crystals," Corran said with a smirk.

My uncle sat up in his chair. "What about Stygium crystals?"

"Rumor has it a stygium-bearing vein was unearthed on Ec Pand. If that's true, the crystals are so expensive and rare that they could make Ec Pand one of the top ten richest planets in our galaxy."

My stomach dropped upon hearing that news. Ec Pand was part of the Indupar Crown Worlds ruled by young King Marcus Odaj Indupar…my son. Of course, only my immediate family and Ben and Valla know that I am the father. I promised his mother I wouldn't tell anybody else about his parentage.

Ben glanced over to me looking deeply concerned but didn't speak.

Mara gave a devious smile. "I bet that news is driving our Chief-of-State crazy. Ec Pand is not in the Galactic Alliance and those crystals are used to make cloaking devices. They are highly regulated by our government. Do you think the GA will try to annex the planet?"

Corran shrugged. "If it is true, Streke will either have to negotiate with the Indupar government or seize the planet. I don't think he will want Ec Pand selling the crystals to foreign governments…not when they are strictly regulated everywhere else."

"Perhaps I should go and talk to this young king and warn him of the possibility. I have been meaning to meet Mark's young protégé for some time now." Luke turned to me. "You've met the King, what do you think of him?"

I didn't answer. I was fighting down the bile creeping up my throat. All I wanted to do was get back to my ship and contact my parents and find out what was going on and have them prepare for trouble.

"Talon?" My uncle prompted me out of my musings. "Do you think he will sell the crystals to the highest bidder?"

I shook my head. "No. He wouldn't want to disrupt the military balance of the galaxy…and I don't think you should go to Indupar."

He rotated his seat so he could look at me fully. "Why is that?"

I took a calming breath and began to lie. The last thing I wanted was my aunt and uncle on Indupar because if they came into contact with Marcus they would immediately know he was my son. "Because Mokk Streke already believes you are trying to destabilize his government. If he discovers you traveled to Indupar, he'll assume you are trying to acquire the crystals for your own purposes."

Luke gave me a long hard look before nodding. "You're probably right."

"If you want, I can go talk to the king. My father is training him. That shouldn't look suspicious."

Luke turned back to the transceiver screen where Corran waited silently. "What do you think Corran? Should we send a Jedi?"

"I think Talon is right. He's probably the only Jedi that can travel to Indupar without raising an eyebrow."

Luke glanced back to me. "Prep your StealthX, Talon. See if you can find out what the Indupar Crown worlds plan to do with such militarily strategic crystals." He looked to Mara and then returned his gaze back to me. "You may want to give the young king a heads up that the Galactic Alliance might want to acquire those particular resources."

"Right away," I turned and motioned for Zylie to follow me back to the ship. I desperately needed to talk to my parents before I left.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Entry 22**_

When Zylie and I got to the _Vazy Princess_ I immediately went to our cabin, switched on the subspace transceiver and punched in the code for my parents' apartment in the Indupar Palace. My mother answered my call and visibly blanched upon seeing me.

"Talon." The way she said my name made my gut clench nervously. She was sitting at a desk—probably at her bedroom transceiver—with a panicked look on her face. She averted her gaze momentarily before looking back to me. "I suppose you heard the news," she said softly.

I nodded. "Just now. What does dad think about the situation?"

Mom gave me a strange look. "Of course, he was horrified. It came as a complete surprise. I know he is scared of your reaction…that you would blame him."

My brow furrowed in confusion. _Why would my dad think I would blame him for a mining discovery?_ "Mom, I don't know why dad would think I'd be mad at him. He's not responsible for what happened on Ec Pand."

My mother let out a shuddering breath as her posture visibly relaxed. "That's a relief. I'm so glad to hear you say that. He was really worried. Your father wanted to be the first to tell you. He thought he would have time to get back from the battlefield and contact you before the news hit the holonet. I guess the newsflash moved faster than we anticipated."

"What?" I muttered, realizing my mother and I were talking about two very different things…and what she was referring to was obviously something that might upset me. "Battlefield? What battlefield? I heard about the discovery of the Stygium crystals but nothing about a battle going on? What happened? Did the Galactatic Alliance attack? Is dad okay?"

My mother's mouth open and then closed without saying a word. She looked completely dumbfounded. "You don't know about the battle?"

"No! What's going on?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "The Nagai attacked Ec Pand. Your father and a regiment of Indupar infantry responded."

My jaw went slack at the news. The Nagai are a race of near humans from the planet Nagi located in a satellite galaxy known as _Firefist_. They are known as fearless fighters and experts in guerrilla warfare. "Dad's okay, right?" I was becoming a little frantic. My father was a veteran of dozens of battles and I never seen my mother so flustered (except for the time he lost his leg).

"Your father is fine. We're all fine. Let me get your father on the line and transfer you. He wants to talk to you before you hear crazy rumors."

"What rumors? Mom what's going…" I didn't get to finish my sentence. My mother put me on hold as she attempted to connect me to my father. I turned to Zylie who was sitting behind me at the edge of our bed. "I have a bad feeling about this."

I could tell she was just as concerned, but she put on a brave face. "Your mother said everybody was fine. She wouldn't lie about that. She probably just doesn't know the details of what happened and wants your father to tell you himself."

My jaw tightened as I tried to steady my nerves. "Or my mother doesn't want to be the one to break bad news to me."

Zylie didn't get a chance to reply. At that moment my father's image appeared on the transceiver signal was full of static and all I could see was the side of my dad's head as he fiddled with an instrument console panel. I wasn't sure where he was at the moment, but it looked like the interior of an armored ground transport command post. I have been in a few while serving at a Void Jumper. I could see communication equipment, vidscreens, infrared proximity sensors and various weapon control systems in the background. Usually the command post has at least a handful of men manning the various stations, but this one looked empty. Either the battle was over or my father kicked everybody out so he could talk to me in private. Eventually the signal cleared and he turned around to face the transceiver. When I saw the look of dread on his normally jovial face, I knew something very bad had happened. "Crap," I whispered to myself as I stepped back and sat heavily on my bed. "Dad? What's wrong?"

My father ran a hand nervously over his red beard as his eyes shifted down and then back to me. "I was hoping for a day or two to prepare for this conversation." He blew out a breath as he ran his hand over his face. "Talon, first of all I want to say nobody in your family is hurt, but something's happened that is going to upset you. Your mom said you haven't heard the news or seen holovids of the battle…which is good, because I think you should hear it from me first."

Zylie reached out and put a reassuring hand on my knee as I felt her apprehension wash over me through the Force. "What happened?"

"Is this line secure?"

I nodded. "It's highly encrypted on my side. I am sure the same is true on your end. Zylie is here with me."

My father nodded. "That's fine." He reached back with a hand and rubbed his neck where I could visibly see the tension in his neck muscles. "Ec Pand was attacked by the Nagai."

"That's what Mom said. I heard there was a discovery of Stygium Crystals…were they after that?"

My father drew a deep sigh. "Yes, and I doubt they will be the only government trying to seize the planet's assets. They are worth more than the gross domestic product of most worlds."

"But you stopped them, right?"

"We did."

I blew out a relieved breath. If the Nagai gained access to the crystals they could become a formable enemy."So, what's wrong? Did you..." I stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly realizing this must have something to do with my son. "Is Marcus alright?" I asked frantically, making sure I didn't say 'son'. This transmission might be highly encrypted but a top slicer might be able to overcome those precautions and I didn't want anybody outside my family knowing the king of Indupar was not the true heir to the throne.

"The King is well…but he is the reason I want to talk to you." My father hesitated and I could see he was deeply troubled. "He led his forces on Ec Pand."

"What?!" I shot to my feet. "He's twelve years old!"

My father's head dropped. "I know, but he is the King. I can't order the boy around. I was with him…most of the time."

"Most of the time!" I shook my head in disbelief. "You wouldn't let me go into combat conditions until I was eighteen and a legal adult, but you allow your…king to lead troops into combat?! He's twelve-kriff'n-years-old! He's not even a teenager!" I could not believe my father let my only child on a battlefield!

My father's jaw tighten as he talked through clenched teeth. "I am _not_ his father! He is the King of Indupar. He believed leading his forces will reinforce his position as ruler of the Crown Worlds."

Anger was beginning to boil up inside me and had to use a Jedi meditation technique to calm myself. I knew what my father was saying. Marcus wanted to ingratiate himself to his people and prove his ability to lead. "What happened?"

My father looked ill at ease as he continued. "I think it is best that you see the video. It will be broadcast on our planet later today and will probably be all over the galaxy by tomorrow." He heaved a sigh. "I'll narrate what's happening."

After a moment my father's face was replaced by a grainy holovid of heavily armed Indupar soldiers wearing battle fatigues and body armor positioned around a town that was obviously protected by a particle/force shield. I could see the generator in the distance emanating long flickering lines of energy up and around the village. "The Indupar Army had pushed back the Nagai Forces to a small town outside the crystal mines," my father narrated. "The enemy put up a shield generator and were dug in. We figured this was the advance party tasked with reconnaissance and to secure a position. They had picked an isolated area and scrambled communications so the locals couldn't call for help. The Nagei forces appeared very surprised that the Indupar Government almost immediately knew they were on Ec Pand."

I gave a soft snort. I knew exactly how the Indupar Government knew the Nagai were there. The royal H'Drachi Seers foresaw this attack. I am surprised they let them get as far as Ec Pand. They must have wanted them there for some reason.

"Marcus called a truce, a suspension of hostilities, for the purpose of negotiations. He wanted to talk to the Nagai leader. With the energy and shock field in place around the enemy forces I guess the Nagai general didn't believe he was in any danger. We couldn't move or fire through the barrier—I couldn't even use the Force to affect things on the other side of the shield. It acted like a Force cage. Of course, I knew the Nagai could have snipers outside the field so I demanded to accompany the King, along with his personal guards."

At this point in the video I could see my son, dressed in a very conspicuous dress blue uniform with gold epaulettes, walk toward the encapsulated town. If he was wearing any protective gear I didn't see it. Towering next to him was my father wearing green pixilated fatigues with beskar'gam armor plating covering his chest, groin and shoulders. Ten of Marcus' personal guards and a platoon of ground troopers followed close behind.

Marcus came to the shock field and waited the arrival of the Nagai commander. Eventually a man walked toward the field followed by an equally well-armed entourage. All the Nagai warriors had pale skin and black, spiked hair. The General was taller than his companions, possibly two meters in height and was extremely gaunt. He looked like an emaciated corpse. He swaggered up to where Marcus stood and I could see the shock field glisten in the sunlight, separating the two leaders.

"At this point Marcus politely told the Nagai leader that as King of the Indupar Crown Worlds he was ruler of Ec Pand and that if the Nagai leader surrendered and his men put down their weapons he would allow the army to return to the Firefist system unmolested, but the General would receive a trial for crimes against the people of Ec Pand. Of course this offer was greeted by laughter."

I could see in the holovid the pale skin troopers smiling in amusement as the Nagai leader gave my son a dismissive gesture.

"The General told Marcus that the Nagai would prevail." My dad took a deep breath and then continued."Marcus then said, ' _I know you believe reinforcements will arrive soon. Two hundred frigates should be coming out of hyperspace at any moment to devastate my armies. Unfortunately for you, they will never arrive. My naval forces activated a gravity well projector along the anticipated hyperspace lane linking the Ec Pand system to the Firefist galaxy. An interdiction field was generated pulling the Nagai fleet out of hyperspace and were subsequently crushed by my forces.'"_

I could see on the holovid the General call to a soldier who was probably the communications officer. The man pulled out a portable transceiver from a satchel, pushed some buttons and shouted into the device. He turned to the general and shook his head.

My father paused the video. "The General didn't believe Marcus, stating it was a ruse. Marcus unclipped his lightsaber and repeated his demands to the General. When the man refused this happened."

My dad turned the vid back on and I watched my son do the impossible—he walked right through the shock field.

I don't know of any Jedi that can do this. Grand Master Luke can create an energy resistant Force bubble to protect him from blasters, but as far as I know he doesn't know how to counter the properties of an Energy Field. I have no idea where Marcus learned this skill, but by my father's surprised reaction in the holovid I could tell Dad didn't teach him this technique. My father tried to follow my son, but was shocked back from the energy screen.

I heard Zylie gasp as the events unfolded. As soon as my son was on the other side of the field he activated his lightsaber and decapitated the General with one swipe. The Nagai soldiers stepped back in shock before they started unloading their blasters on him. Marcus blocked the blasterfire with his lightsaber with ease before he held out an open hand in the direction of the energy generator. He made a flick of his wrist and the generator levitated up and over, smashing into the side of a building. As the protective shield fell, Indupar military snipers took out the remaining enemy near my son before a wave of soldiers advanced forcing the Nagai soldiers into a full retreat. The king's bodyguards quickly formed a protective circle around the boy, which didn't keep my father at bay. He shoved his way to the inner circle to confront Marcus. There was no audio but I could see my dad yelling and gesturing wildly. Marcus gave my dad a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said something before he turned and—accompanied by his guards—walked away from the town and towards whoever was filming the holovid. He stared directly into the holocam for a second or two, his expression was one of a victorious commander, full of power and determination, but as he turned away from the camera operator I caught a disturbing hint of a smug smile.

The holovid faded and was replaced by the image of my father. "The King suffered no injuries. He killed the Nagai General and a possibly two more by deflecting their blasterbolts back to their direction." My father paused. "He told the General the truth. The Nagai armada was pulled out of hyperspace and destroyed. When this holovid is edited, narrated and broadcast over the Crown World HoloNet the boy will be the hero of the Indupar and Ec Pand systems."

I ran a hand through my hair realizing I developed a cold sweat. "Dad, how? How did he learn how to counter a shock field with the Force? Did you train him to do that?"

My father shook his head. "I wish I could take credit for teaching him that impressive skill, but I didn't. He didn't do it through the Force at all, although I am sure he is going to let public believe he did. Physicists employed by the Royal House designed a personal energy field confounder. The device is small, but it can sense the frequency of an energy field and then project its own energy field around a person's body that is 180 degrees out of phase. It makes a protective bubble allowing a person to pass through a shock field unmolested. But to sense the field one has to be practically touching it. That is why he wanted to get in close."

"And you let him!"

"I think you can tell I obviously didn't know what he had planned. If I did, it would have been me wearing the device, and he knew it." My father took a calming breath and blew it out. "I'm sorry Talon."

I shook my head in frustration. There was nothing I could do about this now. At least he wasn't harmed. "What did he do with the surviving Nagai?"

My dad gave me a faint smile. "He sent them home. Some of his commanders thought they should be executed for the destruction they caused. There were a number of deaths in the town they captured. But he said a good leader is not only seen as powerful but also humane. If he destroyed the Nagai Army the next invading force would be less likely to surrender."

I was still having trouble wrapping my head around everything I just witnessed. "Dad…he's only twelve years old."

My father looked at me sternly. "He is the king of the Indupar Crown worlds. He also will be in charge of a vast fortune of crystals that could make the Indupar military a major threat. He needs to show strength or every government in the galaxy will attempt to overthrow him. We are not under the protection of the Galactic Alliance or the Empire. We are an independent system."

I groaned realizing my father was right. "I can understand wanting to appear strong, but there is something that really bothers me…the Seers obviously knew about this attack some time in advance. Why didn't they stop the Nagai recon forces? You said there were casualties in the town. That could have been prevented. I saw that little smug expression at the end of the vid. Marcus let them die just so he can look good!"

My father's face darkened into an angry mask. "That is pure conjecture on your part!"

"Really, is it?" I crossed my arms across my chest and glared at my father. "You said the enemy jammed communications but the Indupar Army was upon them almost instantly. He knew."

I could see my father's jaw tighten as he looked away. "Marcus wouldn't allow the deaths of his people just to strengthen his image."

I studied my father's face. He was hiding something else from me. "What other reason could there be?"

He shrugged. "The seers see decades into the future. Showing strength on one battlefield might prevent a future war. Some decisions may appear coldhearted to those not possessing prescience."

I leaned forward. "Is that what he did, dad? Did he prevent a major war by doing this?"

"Maybe. It remains to be seen."

"What has he told you about the future?"

My father shook his head. "Very little. The seers are secretive, including Marcus."

"I don't like the seers," I muttered darkly. "I don't trust their motives…not one bit." I pointed at my father's image on the transceiver screen. "But, if they are going to continue predicting the future, let them know that they should watch out for the Galactic Alliance's Chief-of-State. He's going to want control over those crystals."

My father nodded. "I will, but I don't think the Alliance will attack without first trying to negotiate."

"Dad, Streke is crazy. Don't underestimate him."

My father chuckled for the first time in this conversation. "Don't worry about Mokk Streke. I can take care of him. It is the Queen I worry about."

"What's going on with the Queen?"

My dad shrugged. "Her and Ema's reaction to the video was worse than yours. I may have to leave Indupar for a while until she cools off. I am fairly certain they want to toss me in the brig. They blame me for Marcus wanting to be a warrior king, claiming I'm a bad influence on him."

"That's just great," I grumbled. "Do you think they'll let me come to Indupar? I would like to talk with Marcus."

My father smiled weakly. "If it is to talk sense into the king, I'm sure they will approve…and I would like that. Your mother and I miss you and Zylie terribly. Hopefully you won't be visiting me in the dungeon."

I glanced over to Zylie for a second. "It will probably just be me in the StealthX unless we can get a cargo order to Indupar."

My dad smiled broadly. "I am sure there is something we can order from your current location to make the trip profitable." My dad reached forward to his the deactivation switch. "I'll see you soon."

"Real soon." When the transceiver screen went black I looked over to Zylie. "My twelve-year-old son is a combat veteran."

She leaned against my shoulder and sighed. "You can't control him. You may be his father, but you can't discipline him. I doubt his mother has any sway over him. For what it's worth, he looks like he is a gifted and disciplined warrior like his father and grandfather. He's also a trained seer. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Maybe," I muttered. On one level I was proud at the courage and skill he exhibited, on another level I was horrified that my little boy decapitated a man before his thirteenth birthday.

They grow up so fast.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Entry 23**_

Thirty-six hours later I arrived on Indupar. I really hate doing long trips in the StealthX. Traveling on the _Vazy Princess_ has spoiled me. I'd left Kuat shortly after talking to my father. I didn't want to be near my Aunt and Uncle when the video of my son showed up on the holonet. I am certain they would have more questions for me concerning my father and the young king.

I got clearance to land and set my starfighter down in the Royal Palace docking bay. In the spaceport corridor I could see my parents. My mom was wearing a conservative blue dress while my father was decked out in his Indupar military dress uniform made out of dark blue Savva Silk and accessorized by a chest full of medals, gold trouser stripes, gold and silver aiguilettes, a dark purple Fourragère, braided cuffs and a gold waist belt that held his lightsaber and an ornate gold-plated blaster.

He looked _so_ gaudy! Ha!

I powered down and popped the canopy. As I exited my ship my mother ran up and nearly tackled me with a fierce hug

"I've missed you so much," she cried happily. I was a bit surprised by her overly emotional embrace, but then I remembered she always got this way when someone in the family went into combat. It takes weeks for her anxiety to subside completely.

I gave my mother a hug and kiss and then broke away to give my father a hug. "I'm glad the Queen didn't banish you.

My dad embraced me and then stepped back as a big, bearded grin crossed his face. "I think she wanted to, but Marcus intervened on my behalf." He chuckled. "She'll get over it…eventually…maybe. Do you have luggage?"

I moved to the undercarriage of the StealthX and opened a small storage compartment. "Just my toiletries and a change of clothing." I raked my gaze across my dad's gold encrusted uniform. "I figured I could borrow some of your tamer outfits if I stay more than a day or two."

My dad looked down at his uniform and snickered. "Too much?"

"No," I said sarcastically. "You should have added some gold camouflage face paint, gold dental veneers, and an assortment of gold necklaces."

My dad guffawed as he wrapped an arm around my mother. "I'll have you know your mom thinks I look dashing in this uniform."

I made a face. "Enough said. I'd like to speak to the king if possible."

"Sure." My dad motioned for me to follow him. "He's expecting you."

* * *

 _ **Entry 24**_

My mother took my flight bag and disappeared down the hall saying she had to get started on dinner. I followed my dad to a large training room where he often instructs Marcus in self-defense and Jedi techniques. Usually it is empty other than Marcus and an aide or two, but today there were a dozen other people with the young king working out on the mats practicing martial art take downs and submission holds. I wasn't positive, but I believe they were learning K'tara. It is a fighting style used by the Alliance Special Forces and other combat units. It stresses stealth and the quick neutralization of the enemy. They performed various strikes and defensive postures while a tall human instructor wearing what looked like a looser version of a black special operations uniform screamed out instructions.

I glanced at my father. "Who are these people?"

My dad threw a thumb in Marcus' direction. "They're Indupar Knight recruits. They are all Force-sensitives to some degree."

I regarded the new apprentices. Most were teenagers, but there was at least one recruit in his thirties and two others looked younger than Marcus…possibly ten or eleven years old. I turned to my father. "How are you going to train a dozen apprentices?"

My father rocked back on his heels and sighed. "I can't. Well, I can for the initial instruction, but they're going to eventually need Masters and _that_ I can't do. I've been talking to Jaina and Jacen about sending these recruits to their fully established Jedi Academies. Both are open to the prospect."

I looked back to the students. "Why not the Jedi Academy on Coruscant? I can understand the king not going there, but these other students could go. I am sure Uncle Luke would welcome them."

My dad shook his head. "We are not part of the Galactic Alliance. If I sent students to the Jedi Academy the Chief-of-State would probably insist that they swear allegiance to the GA or he would pressure the Indupar Crown Worlds to join the Alliance. That's why I am leaning toward sending them to train with Jaina and the Imperial Knights and not with Jacen. The Hapes Consortium has more independence than most worlds in the Alliance…but they are still in the Alliance. The Empire has more flexibility. Emperor Fel makes his own rules without bureaucrats breathing down his neck."

I had to laugh. "I never thought we would one day believe working with the Empire would be the better choice."

"True, but the decision hasn't been made yet." My dad raised a hand giving a signal to the instructor. The man nodded in acknowledgement before barking out orders for the group to halt training and to take a break. My dad and I walked up to Marcus who was sweating in his loose workout clothes. He smiled widely when he saw us but didn't break character. When in public he is always the king and I was simply a Jedi visitor.

"Jedi Tantiss, it is always an honor to have you visit."

I gave him a formal bow. "The honor is mine, your highness." The words came out polite and with the proper reverence accorded to a king, but deep inside I wanted to scold him for risking his life…but that would have to wait until we were out of the public view.

One of Marcus' aides handed him a towel that he used to wipe the sweat off his face and arms. "Please join me in my quarters. I look forward to catching up on news about your family and the Alliance."

We followed my son down the long winding halls leading to his personal quarters. Once behind closed doors we had the liberty to talk freely. "What the hell were you thinking?" I chastised Marcus. "You went into a war zone! What would've happened if you couldn't take down the generator? You would have been trapped inside the town with your army on the other side of the shield!"

Marcus grimaced a sour expression. "Dad, I already had this conversation with my military advisors, my generals, grandfather, grandma, my mother, and the queen mother."

I folded my arms across my chest, exasperated beyond words. "And what did all of those people tell you?"

Marcus looked down to the floor as a guilty blush crossed his face. "They told me exactly what you are preaching now. All I can say is, I made the decision as the ruler of the Indupar Crown Worlds and as a Seer. What I did was the correct decision."

I stared at him in annoyance, but what can I do? What's done is done. I walked over to his quarter's sitting area and flopped down on the couch. Marcus approached smiling sadly. "Sorry Dad. I didn't want to upset everybody, but it had to be done."

I looked up to him and sighed. "For the greater good, right?"

He nodded. "Yes."

I gave a defeated gesture. "What can I do? Nothing."

Marcus came and sat down next to me. "If it helps, I'll tell mom that you thoroughly chastised me."

I chuckled as I reached over and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Just promise me you won't do something that dangerous again." I waited for his reply, but none came. I looked into his blue eyes and asked him again. "Promise me."

He looked away. "Dad, I can't make that promise."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "The same reason why you can't make a similar promise to me. You are a Jedi Guardian. It is a dangerous job. My job can get just as dangerous."

My head dropped to the back cushions of the couch as I glanced over to my father standing off to the side. "Now I understand why mom forbade me from doing missions at a young age. It's terrifying seeing your child in harm's way."

Marcus smiled as he patted my knee. "Dad, don't worry. I don't foresee any more dangerous missions for me in the near future. I've made a huge purchase from Talon Karrde's shipping company and the _Vazy Princess_ should be here in a few days. Meanwhile we get to spend some time together and we can discuss what I should do with the Stygium crystals."

I relaxed for the first time since I saw the vid of Marcus on Ec Pand. "That sounds great."


	21. Chapter 21

_**Entry 25**_

After Marcus showered and changed his clothing we all went down to my parents' quarters where my mother had prepared one of our favorite meals: Coruscant game fowl served with Lipana berry sauce over seasoned rice. I really miss my mother's cooking. I hate to say it, but Zylie is terrible at preparing meals. Princess won't even eat her cooking leftovers. Valla and Ben are not much better. I appear to be the only person on the ship that can read a recipe.

It was a wonderful feast and a great evening. Dad and I purposely avoided the subject of the battle so not to upset my mother. We talked about Indupar Knight training, my pregnant vornskr, and my mission to catch a mind-witch. My parents thought Jonnar teasing his daughter about marrying me was hilarious and mom got all teary eyed when I revealed that I told the witch I would rather die than break my marital vows.

"Zylie is very lucky to have you as a husband," my mother said warmly.

I gave her a wide grin. "I keep telling her that, Mom, but I don't think she believes me."

My father rolled his eyes. "I wonder if vornskrs dislike giant egos? That would explain Princess' distaste for you."

Marcus let out a big laugh. "Did Princess growl at you again, dad?"

I made a noise of disgust as I raised my arm. "She bit me." I pointed to white scar tissue. "The bacta healed most of it but you can still see a scar where she clamped down on me."

"What did you do to her?" My mother's brow furrowed in confusion. "She's never bit anybody before."

"I didn't do anything. I was helping Zylie to give her a bath when I noticed her distended stomach and teats. I thought she might be pregnant and decided to feel her belly to confirm this belief. I guess she thought I was endangering her young and she bit me."

Marcus grinned. "Can I have a baby Vornskr?"

I laughed. "Once they are weaned you can have all of them."

My dad looked a little uneasy. "They won't come after my ysalamiri, will they?"

I shook my head. "Vornskrs eat ysalamiri in the Myrkr forest because that's their main food source. If you feed the animals they won't hunt."

"Unless you touch their belly," my son laughed.

I chuckled. "Correct. If you touch a pregnant vornskr's belly she may develop a craving for Jedi."

The remainder of the meal was spent laughing and telling stories about my childhood, Marcus' training, and the early years at the Jedi Academy when my father and Aunt Mara were Uncle Luke's first students.

It was a good get-together.

 _ **Entry 26**_

I should have known something would spoil my evening and that 'something' came in the form of Ema Aiti who rang the buzzer of my guest quarters just as I was about to retire for the evening. I tightened the bathrobe over my sleep pants and answered the door. In the corridor I found Marcus' mother standing there, arms crossed over her chest and with a disapproving expression on her face. She didn't wait for an invitation to enter, but barged past me and into my guest quarters. "I heard from the palace staff that you were here. I should be told when my son's father is visiting and not have to hear it from the help."

I spread my hands out in a placating gesture. "I didn't know you weren't told. I was invited by my father and Marcus…maybe you should have this conversation with them."

"I should have known your father was involved," she huffed, her usually beautiful face scrunched up into a cold mask. "My sister should have sent him away. I am sure he has filled my son's head with glorious stories of battle." She glared at me. "Are you here to compliment Marcus on becoming a murderer before he's even a teenager? You and your dad are a bad influence on him. You are making him into a warmonger!" Ema was livid…and just as upset as I was with my father upon seeing the holovid of Marcus. I can understand why she was upset but the fact that I am being blamed made my blood boil. Before she could continue her tirade I put up a cautioning hand to silence her.

"Stop right there. How dare you blame me for anything Marcus does." I thrust an accusing finger at her. "You robbed me of my right to raise my son, to be part of his life. He didn't even know I existed until he was nine years old. Nine years I lost with my son! And for the last three years my contact with him—my only child—has been severely limited. So don't you dare criticize me for Marcus' behavior."

The fire dimmed in her blue eyes for a microsecond before she went back on a counter attack. "Before you and your father came into his life he never wanted to be a Jedi warrior. He wouldn't have been on that battlefield if it weren't for your father training him. Marcus wants to be a Jedi so he can be just like you."

I shook my head in disgust. "My parents forbade me from participating in dangerous missions until I was eighteen years of age and I am positive they would have done the same for Marcus if possible." I stared at her in annoyance. "If you want somebody to blame, look in a mirror. It was you and your sister that allowed him to train with the seers. Marcus himself told me he went to Ec Pand because of what he saw in the time stream…not because he wanted to impress my dad or me. He did it for the good of the Indupar Crown Worlds. So if you want to blame somebody blame yourself and your all-knowing seers! Why aren't you yelling at them for not stopping him?"

Ema fell silent for a moment before dragging a hand through her long blond hair and sighing deeply. "The seers can't see Marcus in the time stream…you've known that for a while. That's how he was able to stowaway on your ship last year."

I raised an eyebrow. "I knew they couldn't find him sometimes…it is now all the time?"

She nodded slowly. "He's disappeared entirely. They know of his presence after the fact. They knew about the upcoming attack on Ec Pand and had the admirals set up a trap for the Nagai fleet. They knew the ground forces were successful on Ec Pand…but they didn't see Marcus there. They saw the shield coming down, but they thought your father did it through the Force."

I rubbed my hand over my chin in thought. "Do you think Marcus is blocking them?"

She shrugged. "He rarely discusses the subject with me and when he does I suspect he is lying." He eyes went wide as she took a step toward me. "Maybe you can find out. Go to this quarters or office and use your post-cognitive powers to figure out what he is up to."

I took a step back, offended by the suggestion. "I'm not going to spy on my son."

She gave a caustic laugh. "He spies on you! He watches you through the time stream. What's the difference between him looking at your future or you looking into his past?"

I closed my eyes and drew a calming breath. She had a point, but I still didn't like the idea. "The future can change, the past cannot. If he ignores me in the time stream and I died he will be wracked with guilt."

"What if you didn't check on what he did in the past, so you didn't see his plans, and in doing so, you didn't see what idiotic thing that got him killed. Don't you think you would feel guilty also?"

I turned away and paced the room in thought. I stopped and gazed at the floor intently before speaking. "Ema, if he watches me in the time stream then he would know of any plans I had to spy on him. He would simply find a way to counter my snooping. I wouldn't get any useful information and it might result in Marcus never trusting me again." I blew out a deep breath before settling down on the couch. "I want to protect my son, but I'm not going to invade his privacy. I don't want to do anything that would cause resentment and damage my relationship with him."

Her shoulders slumped as she blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't know how your mother tolerates having three Jedi in her family. She must have be a nervous wreck when you were growing up."

I gave a low chuckle. "She knew we were instructed by highly skilled Jedi Masters. Our training has kept us alive. Even if Marcus never picked up a lightsaber again, he would still be a target of assassins. All political leaders are susceptible. A Jedi warrior king is harder to kill." I stood and walked over to Ema, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't send my father away. The skills he has imparted to Marcus might be the only thing keeping our son alive…and not the other way around."

She gave me an exasperated roll of her eyes and a dismissive gesture. "I hate to admit it, but you are probably right. According to your mother, he is as wild and incorrigible as you were at his age. If he is going to be running into danger all the time he might as well be properly trained."

She turned and moved to the exit. She reached for the door latch but stopped and turned back to me. "Talon, I apologize for getting angry at you. You're right. You were cheated out of fatherhood…and for that I am sorry." She then slipped out of my room closing the door behind her.

I walked to my bedroom wearily, wondering if I was making the right decision. I am Marcus' father and he is still a child. Should I use my powers to keep a watchful eye on him? I don't know the answer to that. What I really wanted to do was break into the seers' meditation chamber and see what mischief they are up to. Of course they would see my actions and prevent me from doing so.

I plopped down in my bed wondering if Marcus was allowed into their meditation room. I realized I've never asked him where he did seer training. If Marcus has entered their inner sanctum, then he'd know all their secrets. But, if they prevented my son from entering their headquarters, then they were definitely hiding something. I would feel better if I knew for sure that Marcus was privy to the seers' plans. If he wasn't…well, then maybe the elusive King Marcus should pay a visit to the seers' meditation chamber. They couldn't stop him, because they wouldn't see him coming.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Author's Note: This chapter makes reference to events that occurred in my fanfic Second to None: Sacrifices. That story is about Jacen's fall to the darkside and eventual return to the light.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Entry 27**_

I had breakfast with my parents the next morning. I was sitting across the dining table from my mom and dad, eating breakfast, when my father started to chuckle under his breath. He cut his eggs with the edge of his fork, gave me a furtive glance, and then attempted to stifle a smile.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Dad?"

He motioned for me to wait while he tried to swallow a mouthful of food. Once he got the chow down he wiped his beard with his napkin and grinned. "I heard Ema was in your room last night."

My jaw went slack. I really hope he didn't get the wrong impression. "Dad, she just came to talk; don't start any rumors."

He rolled his eyes and snickered before pointing his fork in my direction. "Do you really think I would be in a good mood if I thought you were cheating on your wife?" He shook his head while offering a disbelieving snort. "No, I know you were only talking. I could feel her anger seeping through the Force all the way to our quarters."

My eyes narrowed with irritation. "Then why didn't you come and help me. She was pissed."

My dad bit down on his lower lip to keep from laughing some more. "No way. I have been on the receiving end of her tirades for days. Yesterday was the first time I've had a reprieve."

I rolled my eyes and I went back to my meal. "You could have at least warned me or let her know I was on planet."

My dad shrugged. "She'd still be mad." He sipped some juice and leaned back in his chair. "The _Vazy Princess_ will be here soon. Marcus had his people talk to Karrde and he chartered the freighter to transport some cargo from Indupar, to Coruscant, then to Hapes and finally to Bastion. He is paying twice the going rate."

"Okay," I said guardedly. "Does that mean Marcus wants me gone from the planet?"

My dad nodded. "It's probably for the best."

I gave a slow despondent nod. I had really wanted to stay longer, but with Ema in a foul mood leaving was probably the soundest course of action. "What's the cargo?"

Dad put his hand to his chest and smiled. "Me." He stood and picked up his empty plate and moved it to the kitchen. "Today Marcus sent a group of his representatives to Coruscant to negotiate with Chief-of-State Mokk Streke concerning the recently discovered stygium crystals. He wants me to meet them there and assist." He returned from the kitchen and sat back down. "He said he feared his representatives would be turned away if Streke knew a Jedi was on board. I am going to sneak into the meeting at the last minute. It will be harder for him to turn me away once negotiations are ready to commence."

"Why does Marcus want you there?"

His brow went up slightly. "Because I am one of the few people he truly trusts."

"Plus your dad can use the Force to figure out if Streke is lying," my mother added.

My dad grinned. "That too."

I sighed deeply. "I sort of wanted to spend more time with my son."

My father stood and put a friendly hand on my shoulder. "I know, but I would like to spend some time with my son also."

I looked over to my mother. "Are you coming with us?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm going to stay and make sure Marcus stays out of trouble." She gave my father a knowing look. "Before the Ec Pand incident I told your father Marcus was acting suspiciously, but I was completely ignored because _I'm no Jedi."_

The way my mother said that last sentence indicated this was an issue my parents argued over before. Luckily my father will always admit when he's wrong…especially when it comes to my mother. He gave a shrug of his shoulders and a sheepish grin.

"I should have listened to you, Kira. I guess women's intuition is stronger than the Force."

She laughed as she cleared the table. "And don't you forget it." She looked over to me. "Don't worry. I'll keep Marcus out of trouble while you are doing some male bonding with your father."

I was a little relieved that my mother was staying with my son. If anybody could keep a Force-strong boy out of trouble it was my mother. When my brother Jaden and I were young we always wondered if my mother was Force-sensitive because she always knew when we were up to no good. She's not, though. She simply pays close attention to our actions, tone of voice and body language.

Hopefully she'll keep a close eye on Marcus while we're gone.

* * *

 _ **Entry 28**_

The _Vazy Princess_ arrived two days later. I met everybody at the palace docking bay and escorted Zylie, Valla and Ben to my quarters where Marcus was waiting for us.

Once the doors were closed Zylie gave my son a big hug. She stepped back and shook her head. "You are just like your father. That vid of you on Ec Pand took a decade off my life."

He blushed slightly. "Sorry to worry you." He motioned us to the sitting area of my guest quarters. "I hope your trip was uneventful."

As we sat down I noticed Valla and Zylie were having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Everything went perfectly. We were able to obtain the large cargo order you requested…but I have to admit, it raised a few eyebrows with some of the merchants."

Marcus' brow furrowed. "I ordered combat-sturdy datapads for my officers."

Zylie laughed. "That was only one thing on your purchase list."

Marcus leaned forward slightly at he gazed at Zylie and Valla in confusion. "I allowed my sergeants to get input from the soldiers that deployed to Ec Pand and determine what they would want as a reward for a job well done. I trusted them to make an appropriate requisition for the men."

Zylie, Valla and Ben all burst out laughing. "You allowed the enlisted men to decide what they wanted?" Zylie shook her head in disbelief. "That explains the two-hundred assorted Kuat pleasure holovids, fifty cases of high-end whiskey, and five hundred boxes of expensive, hand rolled cigaras."

Marcus blanched. "They ordered pleasure holos?" An annoyed expression crossed his face as he slowly stood. "I think I need to have a conversation with my senior noncommissioned officers."

I rose out of my seat with a chuckle, placing a hand on his shoulder "If you give combat soldiers say on what they want…expect them to request what they want." I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Just tell your men you are going to have their requisitions delivered to their homes…either to their spouses or their mothers." I chuckled as I dropped back down into my seat.

Marcus snorted. "Oh, that's mean, Dad."

"Don't actually do it, just get them panicking."

Marcus smiled. "I guess I have something fun to do tomorrow."

The rest of the day was spent talking and catching up with what's going on with each other's lives. Too much was said to write down in a journal entry. I can say, a good time was had by all.

* * *

 _ **Entry 29**_

We didn't stay long on Indupar. That's probably for the best. I really didn't want another late night visit by Ema complaining about the delivery of two hundred smutty holovids to the palace. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't witness the mayhem a battalion of drunk, horny, cigara smoking ground troopers could rain down on the capital city. Oh well, maybe next time. Ha!

I transferred my StealthX back into the holding bay of the _Vazy Princess_ and then helped my father with his luggage. I put his huge travel bag in our guest cabin, but the long, thin metallic case he brought he carried into the cargo bay. I was a bit confused, so I followed my father. "What's in the case?"

He looked to the carrying case and smiled. "It is a gift for a friend."

I frowned at the cryptic remark. "It looks like a blaster rifle case."

"That is exactly what it is." He moved to the far end of the cargo bay and pushed aside some metallic storage crates, clearing an area. He examined the floor before banging his heel on the metal deck.

"What are you doing, Dad?"

He didn't answer right away. He turned to the wall and examined some external conduits. "I'm looking for the secret storage compartment."

I laughed. "Who do you think we are? Han Solo? We're not smugglers. We don't have secret compartments. Why would you…" Before I could finish my sentence my father pulled or pushed something above a large electrical box causing a loud metallic thump to echo through the cargo hold. I was shocked when a floor panel slid aside revealing a two-cubit-meter hidden compartment. "What the…?"

My dad turned to me confused. "You didn't know about the hidden features of this ship?"

"No." I shook my head. "How did you know?"

My dad hopped down into the storage area and gently placed the blaster case on the floor. He then jumped out and flipped the secret switch to close the hidden chamber. As the floor panel slid shut, he turned and gestured toward the smuggler's compartment. "Karrde and I supervised the renovation of this ship. He thought it wise to have a least one hiding place. After all, the Falcon's hidey-holes are the reason your aunt and uncles are alive today."

"Okay," I said slowly as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I just have a few questions." I dropped my hand and looked my father in the eye. "Why didn't I know about this supposedly lifesaving hideaway and why do you feel the need to stash away a blaster?"

My father ran his fingers through his beard in thought. "I don't know why you weren't told. I thought you knew. As for the blaster, I am going to a planet where the chief-of-state distrusts Jedi. I don't want customs finding a sniper blaster rifle with long-range scope in my cabin and start asking questions. But don't worry, it's legal."

I started to get an eerie feeling about my dad's explanation. "You said it is a gift for somebody…who?"

"Deke."

"Deke…as in your old Jump School buddy, Deke? The commander of Tenel Ka's personal bodyguards, Deke?"

Dad smiled. "Yeah, Deke Tavik. He said he has some really interesting information he will trade for the antique sniper blaster rifle that I foolishly mentioned owning while in his presence."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "And isn't Deke the person you disappeared with for almost two weeks shortly after Jacen's brush with the darkside. And after those two weeks you returned to Coruscant and retired from the Jedi Order with no explanation. It's that Deke, right?"

My dad frowned deeply, leaned in and whispered to me. "Drop it." He stepped back and gazed at me sadly. "I know you have your suspicions about Jacen's involvement with Lumiya and my actions in the aftermath of her death." He pulled in a deep breath and let it out. "All I can say is…whatever awful thing you suspect…you're probably right…and nothing good will come from you knowing the details. So please, drop it."

My father's words, along with the sad tone of his voice, shook me to the core. My throat tightened as I tried to form a response. "Okay dad. I trust you did what was best for all involved."

He forced a smile on his face. "It was for the best."

He gazed at me affectionately before turning on his heel and exiting the cargo area.

As I watched him walk away I couldn't help but feel sorry for my father. All his life he was forced to keep secrets. After the Emperor Reborn attempted to possess his body my father became the unwilling recipient of Palpatine's memories. All that dark knowledge he has kept secret for decades. Now he is the keeper of Jacen's memories. My cousin's memory wipe, performed by my father, ensured Jacen didn't remember his fall from the light. Jacen doesn't remember...but my father saw what was in Jacen's thoughts. These memories are my dad's burden.

Part of me wants to know the truth, but the other part knows my dad is right. Nothing good will come from knowing the details.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Entry 30**_

When I told Zylie about the secret compartment she didn't believe me. I had to show her. It took me a few minutes, but I located the entry switch and opened up the compartment. She stared at it in disbelief. "Why didn't my father tell me about this?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why not ask him yourself? He's your father. My dad thought we were already told."

"I will." Zylie marched down the corridor, past the galley where my father was having a snack and to the flight deck where she asked Valla and Ben if they knew about the secret compartment, which they didn't. They also didn't believe it and had to see it themselves. The ladies then went back to the cockpit and called their father. Ben and I crowded in behind them, wanting to see what our father-in-law had to say about this.

"Dad, why didn't you tell us about the smuggling compartment in our ship's cargo area?" Valla asked her father impatiently.

Karrde looked a bit sheepish. "To be honest, I had second thoughts about it after having it installed." Karrde ran his fingers through his beard and sighed. "I was a smuggler and it was instinct for me to have that added, but then I thought you and your sister would see it as an invitation to smuggle and I didn't want you to get involved in that type of life. Especially when you have Jedi husbands."

Valla rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. "Dad, you could have told us about it and then forbid us from using it for smuggling."

Karrde chuckled. "That's like handing a teenage boy a condom and then telling him not to have sex. There is an implied permission." He threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "But you know about it now, so I will tell you…don't smuggle."

Zylie made a scoffing noise. "Too late, Talon's dad is smuggling weapons in it."

Karrde's brow furrowed. "What?"

I shook my head adamantly. "He's not smuggling. He's transporting a legal weapon to Hapes, but we're stopping at Coruscant first. If we're randomly searched by customs he doesn't want it found because the Chief-of-State thinks the Jedi are out to get him."

Karrde gave a snort. "I am sure if the Jedi were out to get him…they would have got him by now." He shook his head with a chuckle. "He's delusional."

Valla's eyes narrow as she regarded her father. "Is there any other surprises on the ship that we should know about…any other secrets that you had second thoughts about?"

Karrde averted his eyes. "No."

"Daddy…" Zylie said in her _'I know you are lying'_ voice.

Karrde shrugged. "There are three more small partitions. In the three cabins there is a hidden compartment for a blaster in the bedside tables."

"Thank you, Daddy," Zylie said in an overly cheerful voice before her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why didn't you tell us about those hidden compartments? Those could come in handy."

Her dad sighed deeply as he looked to something or someone to his side. "Those blaster compartments can't be locked. Your mother and I didn't want you to forget that there was a blaster there and then some child gets ahold of the weapon."

"What?" I interrupted. The only child that has ever been on this ship has been my son. As far as I know, Karrde was never told about Marcus. "What child are you talking about?"

At that point Zylie's mother, Zara, crowded into the viewing area to address that question. "We were hoping to have grandchildren sometime in the future."

Karrde blushed slightly at his wife's comment, but then gave a nod. "I am in my seventies and not getting any younger."

I put my arm around Zylie and smirked. "I'll start working on that right away, sir."

Zylie gave me an evil look as she gave my hand resting on her hip a slap. "Knock it off."

I grabbed my wife around the waist and started pulling her toward the door. "No time to waste. Let's get to baby making."

Karrde snickered. "You don't need to get on that mission right this minute, but sometime in my lifetime would be nice." He pointed at the screen. "Just don't smuggle. It's not a life for my girls."

"Got it. No smuggling," I said teasingly as I pulled Zylie out of the cockpit and down the corridor toward our cabin. As we passed through the galley my father raised and eyebrow and smirked. "What's this all about?"

I smiled broadly. "I'm dragging Zylie to our cabin so I can check out her hidden compartment."

"Talon!" Zylie screeched in embarrassment.

My father obviously knew what I was talking about because he said "There is a trick to getting it open. Let me know if you need help."

I gave him a mock look of shock. "Dad, what would mother say?"

My dad blushed as he shook his head. "She'd say she'd like a grandchild from Zylie…so get working. But if you do need help finding the quick release latch to the blaster compartment let me know."

By then Zylie had broken free from me and ran to the cabin. I glanced over to my father. "I think I can figure out how to get into it."

After a half hour trying to first locate and then open the compartment I finally had to get my father to help me…but later that evening I did get to work on the baby-making mission. HA!

* * *

 _ **Entry 31**_

A few days later, late in the sleep cycle, we arrived on Coruscant. My father had said he didn't have to meet the Indupar delegation until 0900 and the conference with the Chief-of-State wasn't scheduled to occur until 1300 hours, so we didn't bother waking anybody.

Ben and I docked the freighter and then wandered off to our respective cabins to get some sleep. I woke early in the morning to get breakfast started and found Ben already awake and drinking caf. "Why are you up so early?"

He sipped his caf and shrugged. "Your father left the ship about a half hour ago. I woke when I heard the ship boarding ramp clunk when returning to the locked position. We need to check that out. It goes down silently but coming up it makes a loud bang. I think there is something wrong with the locking mechanism."

I looked at my wristchrono. "It's 0700. He's not supposed to meet anybody for another two hours." I went to the galley cabinet and grabbed my caf mug. "That's weird. He never leaves without saying goodbye."

Ben looked unconcerned. "Maybe he had an errand to run before meeting with the delegation."

I filled up my cup and took a sip while deep in thought. "He didn't mention any errand. Why did he sneak off…?" I stopped in mid-sentence and thought about that sniper blaster rifle he made sure was safely hidden from the Coruscant security and customs services. "He didn't take the blaster rifle did he?" As I said the words the ridiculousness of my comment hit me, but at the same time a sense of dread ran down my spine. Maybe the Seers saw something. If they saw that the Chief-of-State was a danger to my son, would my dad go off and kill the man? I didn't think it was possible. No, I knew it wasn't possible. I shouldn't think of such things. My father is no killer. But then I realized that isn't true. My father has a confirmed death count that probably rose to the hundreds or thousands. If you consider the destruction of Byss it might be in the millions. Still, there is a big difference between killing in combat and assassinating people.

"Why do you want to know about the blaster?" Ben asked then shook his head incredulously. "Do you really think he may have snuck off to kill somebody?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug of my shoulders. "No."

Ben put his mug down on the counter. "You do too." He walked down the corridor toward the cargo bay. "I know you. You're going to be all nervous and upset until you see that blaster."

I followed behind my cousin. "No, I won't."

He blew out a breath. "Yes you will." We entered the cargo area and walked to the location of the hidden compartment. Ben reached up above the electrical panel and activated the hatch release. "I'll show you the blaster and then you can relax."

I was going to argue that I didn't need to see it, but in reality I wanted some relief from my worries. When the smuggling compartment was revealed I was relieved to see the rifle case in the exact location my father left it. Ben jumped down into the cubicle. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He looked up to me. "I'm going to show you the weapon."

I squatted down at the edge of the opening. "That's not necessary."

Ben rolled his eyes. "If we leave now you'll dwell on the possibility that the blaster wasn't inside."

Ben knelt down next to the carrying case, flicked open the locks and opened the container. When I saw the blaster rifle I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" came a voice from behind me. I turned to find my father standing about a meter behind me, holding a box of pastries while munching on a fried dough ball covered with powdered sugar. I was so startled by my father's appearance that I lost my balance and fell into the smuggler's hold, landing on my cousin.

Ben yelped as I fell on his back. "Dammit Talon, what is with you falling on me?" He detangled himself and then noticed my father looking down at us. "Oh. Hi, Uncle Mark." He struggled to his feet and helped me up. "We were just checking out the storage compartment. What are you up to?"

My dad sat down on the edge of the opening, his legs hanging over the side while holding up the box of pastries. "I was getting something for breakfast." He looked to Ben, me and then to the blaster case before a expression of disappointment crossed his face. "You were checking to see if I took my blaster, weren't you?"

"No," I muttered while Ben simultaneously said, "Yes."

My dad shook his head sadly. "I'm disappointed in you two."

I grabbed onto the edge of the opening and pulled myself out of the container before reaching down and helping Ben up. "I'm sorry Dad. Ben never had any doubts. He was just trying to ease my worries. I am sorry that I would even consider that you would assassinate anyone."

I was surprised when my father made a scoffing sound. "That's not why I'm disappointed. If I needed to assassinate a person I would. What I wouldn't do is involve you two and your wives. If I were intent on killing somebody I would rent a private ship with untraceable credits, use a fake transponder and alter my facial features. I wouldn't catch a ride with my son, nephew and their brides. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it not knowing what to say. The way he listed off his assassination how-to list was disturbing. My dad must have sensed my discomfort because he just laughed and gave me a good-natured slap on the back. "Don't worry. The last time I was on an assassination mission it was to slay the Emperor Reborn and I didn't even get to do the deed. The kill went to Karrde." He stood and then pulled me to my feet. "Come on let's eat."

Somehow my father's words didn't bring much comfort. The ease in which he described how he would sneak onto a planet was disconcerting at the very least. I wonder if the Seers have sent my father on clandestine missions in the past? I would ask my dad, but I felt bad enough about being caught checking up on him. Perhaps I'll ask him on another day.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Entry 32**_

An hour later I crossed paths with my dad leaving his cabin dressed in his gaudy blue and gold uniform. It was the same one he wore on Indupar, but this time his dark trousers were tucked into highly polished, leather, knee high jackboots. On his head was a dark blue shako topped with a golden plum. For civilians not familiar with this type of headgear, it basically looks like he's wearing a bucket on his head, except it has a short brimmed visor and it's garnished with feathers. I noticed he wasn't wearing his gold-plated blaster or lightsaber today. I guess he doesn't want to make Mokk Streke nervous. He gave me a wave of his hand as he slung a small backpack over his shoulder. "How do I look?"

I literally bit my bottom lip to keep myself from laughing at his outfit. I wanted to tell him he looked ridiculous, but instead said. "Great." I didn't want any follow up questions on his outlandish outfit, so I changed the subject by making an innocuous query. "What's in the pack?"

My father grinned mischievously. "Thermal detonators. I plan to blow up the senate."

I shook my head with a grimace. "Not funny Dad. I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I? I'm sorry I was apprehensive about the sniper blaster."

A big bearded smile crossed his face as he gave me a good-natured smack on the shoulder. "Sorry, I can't help teasing you. You're so suspicious of everyone and everything."

My mouth drew into a hard line as I glared at my father. "No, I'm not suspicious of everything!" I protested. "Kriff it, Dad! You can't give me your enigmatic _"Drop it"_ speech that hints of possible nefarious things you may or may not have done with your friend Deke and then get upset when I get a bit paranoid when you hide a long-range sniper blaster on my ship."

My father's smile slipped from his face as he gave a nod his head. "You're right. I've been secretive." He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "If it makes you feel better, when I left with Deke…I didn't kill anyone. I simply got rid of some incriminating computer records."

I sighed deeply. "How incriminating?"

"Let's just say if the information got out it would devastate the Jedi and our entire family." He looked away. "I think you know what I'm hiding. You're a good guesser…or maybe you used your post-cognitive powers to figure it out."

"No, I didn't use the Force." I dropped my head into my hand and groaned. I suspected Jacen was involved in the Hapan plague that killed off a number of Tenel Ka's murderous and conniving relatives and now Dad was all but confirming my belief. I looked up to my father and realized he appeared apprehensive about my response. I gave a curt nod of my head and a forced smile. "I hope you and Deke did a thorough job."

"We did." He glanced at the backpack strap he held in his hand. "It's a change of clothing. I don't want to be in this starched uniform all day." He stepped forward and gave me a hug. "I shouldn't joke about such things. I'm sorry that I hid the truth from you, but nothing good would have come from you knowing."

I returned the hug and then stepped back and smiled. "Let's change the subject. What are you going to ask from Streke in exchange for the crystals?"

He gave me a big, toothy grin. "Coruscant's Delta Reserve Fleet and some credits to refurbish them. They hold no tactical value to the planet. They're already decommissioned and scheduled for disposal within the next five to ten years."

I gave a slight nod of my head as I tried to remember the specifications of that fleet. "How many ships does that armada have?"

"Two hundred total, although most are X-wings, small Carrack-Class cruisers and Strike-Class medium cruisers. Our intelligence sources say there are at least seven Star Destroyers."

I gave out a slow whistle. "Damn, Dad! Are you planning on going to war?"

Dad shrugged a shoulder. "We're already at war with the Nagai. And there are probably other systems that might want to steal the crystals from us."

I looked at him glumly. "Did the seers see a need for such a massive navy?"

My dad made an _"I don't know"_ gesture. "Marcus talked about the potential job opportunities for his people. Refurbishing the fleet would bring in probably a million jobs and then he would have to hire people to serve as crew. He never mentioned it's tactical advantage, just the economic."

I blew out a breath. "That's good to know." I reached out and gave my father's shoulder a squeeze. "Good luck and may the Force be with you."

He smiled widely. "It always is."

* * *

 _ **Entry 33**_

Zylie and I decided to spend some of our free time with my brother and his family, so we arranged to have lunch at Jaden's quarters at noon. When Zylie and I arrived my four-year-old niece, Jessa, greeted us at the door. "Uncle Talon!" she yelled while jumping up-and-down in front of me, arms upraised and begging to be picked up. I reached down and scooped up the four-year-old child. "Whoa, Jessa, you're getting big. Pretty soon I won't be able to pick you up any more." She just giggled and kissed me on the cheek. "I missed you and Aunt Zylie."

"I missed you too." I gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her back on the ground so I could greet my brother and his wife Jysella. I gave Jaden a hug and then kissed Jysella on the cheek. "How's everything going on Coruscant?"

"Well, life here isn't as exciting as it is on Ec Pand," Jaden said before cocking his head to scrutinize my hair. "I'm surprised you don't have any grey hairs yet, Brother. Jysella and I caught Marcus' performance on the holonet. I'm surprised dad didn't have a heart attack."

"I just about had a heart attack." I made a face and threw my hands up in the air. "You're lucky you have a girl."

"Oh, I'm sure Jessa will be giving me conniptions in no time." Jaden turned his attention to Zylie giving her a brotherly hug and kiss before leading us into the living room. "I hope you guys can stay a while." He motioned for us to sit.

"It's going to depend on how quickly negotiation go for Dad and Streke," I said as Zylie and I relaxed on my brother's couch. Jaden and Jysella settled down across from us on a matching love seat.

"That may take forever," my brother said with a smirk. "Streke isn't the most reasonable politician in the galaxy."

At that moment Jessa ran up to her father and jumped onto his lap. My brother cringed as a fifteen kilogram child landed on his groin. "Ohhh, Jessa, you're not a baby anymore." He stood, placing the dark-haired little girl on the floor and pointing to her bedroom. "Why don't you go play with your dolls in your room while the grown-ups talk."

Jessa looked at Zylie and me apprehensively. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No, we'll be here for a while." I gestured towards her room. "Go on and play. We'll see you in a little for lunch."

As soon as she ran off Jaden doubled over while clutching his crotch. "She's got to break that habit before I am rendered sterile."

"Oh," Jysella said suddenly. "That reminds me." She turned to Jaden. "You were going to ask him…about…you know."

My brother looked confused for a second but then his expression turned to one of comprehension. "Oh, yeah, yeah." He sat down on the couch before leaning forward and looking at me expectantly. He started to say something but then stopped and started laughing. He turned to his wife. "No, I can't ask him. You ask him."

Jysella shook her head. "You need it, so you ask."

I looked between the two in confusion. "Listen guys, we're family. Anything you need, just ask."

Jaden chuckled under his breath and blushed. "We were wondering if I could get a sperm sample from you."

"What?" Zylie gasped in disbelief. She gazed at my brother. "Did something happen and you no longer can have children?"

I put my hands up in the air. "Wait! I don't know if I'm up for that."

Jaden made a halting gesture. "No, no, no. I definitely do not want you fathering any of my children. I didn't get kneed in the groin that hard." He started to explain but started laughing. He turned back to Jysella. "I told you this would be a difficult topic to broach."

She waved him off impatiently and turned back to me. "Jaden is researching Force heritability and is currently checking midichlorians counts in sperm. He is quietly asking for male volunteers of various Force abilities."

My eyes went wide as a broad grin split my face realizing my brother had a breakthrough in his medical research. "You found them! You isolated midichlorians. I knew you could do it." When I noticed my brother wasn't smiling I asked, "What's wrong?"

He shrugged. "I didn't discover them. Another scientist did—Doctor J'Shan. He's a renowned geneticist, pathologist and virologist working for the Galactic Alliance Institute of Health. He discovered our elusive midichlorians. I'm now researching heritability."

Zylie looked to him sadly. "Sorry Jaden. I know how much effort you put into that research."

"Wait," I said slowly, somewhat puzzled. "Why is a government institute researching Midichlorians? And how did they even know of their existence? We only knew about them because of the memories dad acquired when the Emperor Reborn temporarily possessed his body. I thought only the top Jedi knew about their existence."

"One can never suppress knowledge fully." My brother ran a hand through his dark brown hair and sighed. "When I saw Dr. J'Shan's published paper on the subject I immediately contacted him. He said he was given a government grant to find the source of Force powers. He came upon the name midichlorians in his research and decided to maintain the original name if he ever located them in the human body."

"Who gave him a government grant?" I asked nervously.

My brother gave me a knowing look. "I'll give you one guess."

"Mokk Streke," Zylie and I said simultaneously.

My brother nodded. "I became so nervous about the funding source that I volunteered to assist Doctor J'Shan so I can keep an eye on him."

I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach. "Does Uncle Luke know?"

"Yes," my brother said with a nod. "He's the one that suggested I work with the doctor. At this time the Dr. J'Shan doesn't appear to know the purpose for the research grant, he just finds the topic fascinating. I think he is totally oblivious to Streke's anti-Jedi sentiments."

I shifted in my seat. "Why do you think Streke is having the research done?"

Jaden ran a hand over his chin and stared at the ceiling in thought. "My best guess is he wants to find out how to render midichlorian's inactive."

I sucked in a breath. "You think he is going to attack the Jedi Order? Infect us with a virus to kill off our midichlorians?"

Jysella shook her head. "I have a hard time believing the Chief-of-State would go that far. I think he wants to neutralize the ever-increasing Force-sensitive criminal population."

Jaden nodded in agreement. "Unless a Force-sensitive criminal commits a horrific crime like murder, he's going to be out on the street again one day. I think Streke wants to make sure he is forever cut off from the Force. So far Dr. J'Shan hasn't mentioned trying to figure out how to eradicate or attenuate these midichlorians organelles and hopefully he'll never attempt that discovery. I temporarily got him sidetracked researching how they are passed from parent to child. To keep him on that path I need to provide him with something to research, hence the sperm sample. Midichlorians are located in sperm along side of mitochondria. In fact they are just as ubiquitous as mitochondria and found in all cells except erythrocytes. They have their own genetic code like mitochondria and they look so much like them that I overlooked the organelle until the difference was pointed out by Dr. J'Shan. They were hiding in plain sight."

"But what is confusing is why the paternal midichlorian genes are passed on from the father, but they aren't in mitochondria," Jysella added. "It could be the regulatory protein that is found in the female ovum that is tasked to target and destroy male mitochondrial DNA upon conception doesn't work against midichorlian DNA."

"Ah ha," I muttered sagely, like I actually understood what was said. We all fell into a contemplative silence until Jaden slapped his hands together and said, "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

I had to shake my head. I don't know how my brother could be so trusting of this doctor and the intentions of the Chief-of-State. Maybe dad's right; I'm too suspicious of everyone and everything.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Entry 34**_

My father came back to the ship late that night. I was surprised that he didn't stay at the hotel with his delegation, but he just shook his head and mumbled something about not wanting to spend a second longer with politicians than absolutely necessary…and then he begged me not to tell my Aunt Leia he said that.

"How did the negotiations go?" I asked as he poured himself a cup of caf in the ship galley. He scooted into the dining table booth seat and frowned. "Do you have any whiskey?"

"That bad, huh?" I slide into the seat across from him assuming my non-drinking father's request for alcohol was in jest. "What happened?"

He smirked. "Streke was not happy to see me, but since I have an official court position on the King's Counsel he really can't turn me away without causing a diplomatic incident. I could tell he was nervous about me being a Jedi. I'm surprised he didn't wear a metallic foil hat to keep my evil Jedi mind-tricks from boring into his tiny brain." He looked up from his cup and gave me a questioning look. "Why aren't you and Zylie staying with your brother and his family?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "I prefer some privacy."

My dad guffawed. "Is having a hyperactive four-year-old around a little too much for you?"

"Nah, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"Zylie looks sad when she sees Jessa. I think she wants a child, but at the same time this really isn't a good time for us to start a family. Her and Valla have the Karrde family business to watch over, Ben and I have Jedi missions, Marcus is off decapitating foreign generals…I don't know…it's just a difficult time, but I know she's wondering if there will ever be a right time."

My father gave me a warm smile. "I'll happen…probably sooner than later." He took a sip of his drink and gazed at me affectionately. "She knows you want another child, doesn't she? She doesn't believe you are satisfied with Marcus, does she?"

I nodded. "She knows. I've said I would give up everything for her. I'd leave the Jedi if she wanted to start a family."

My father looked down at his cup and gave a soft smile. "You are a good father. I know it has been difficult for you being away from Marcus, but I want you to know that Marcus knows how much you love him and how desperately you wanted to be a full time father to him." He glanced up to look me in the eyes. "I tell him stories about your childhood all the time and show him holos of you. I know it is not as good as being there with him, but it's the best I can do for now. I predict you will have more time with him now that he is King. If I can talk the Chief-of-State to part with his decommissioned fleet then Marcus will cement his place within Indupar as the most popular leader in the planet's history. He is doing amazing things for his people. Soon nobody will care if it is discovered he's not the true heir."

"Do you think Streke will give you the fleet?"

My dad grinned. "Oh course he will. He's not wearing his metallic foil hat to these negotiations."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You're bad." I stopped and gave him a questioning gaze. "You're not doing mind-tricks on him, are you?"

Dad frowned. "Talon, I'm shocked that you would say such a thing."

For the second time this week I deeply regretted my insensitive comments. "I'm sorry dad, it's just you are always joking and…"

"He would have to possess a functioning mind for a Jedi-mind trick to work," my father interrupted with a laugh. "I would have better luck doing a mind-trick on a rock."

I leaned over the table and smacked my father in the shoulder. "Stop teasing me!"

A scream coming down from the corridor interrupted my father's laughter. "Talon!" I could hear Zylie frantically calling me. "Come to the cargo bay! Quick!"

My dad and I looked to each other before we jumped from our seats and ran down the corridor to the cargo area where we found Zylie sitting on the metallic deck and cradling the head of her pet Vornskr. Princess was panting heavily, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Zylie looked up to me wide-eyed. "She's in labor. We need to find her a comfortable place to have her pups."

"What do you need?" my father asked.

"There are some old blankets in the corridor closet. Find a medium size cargo box, take off the lid and turn it on its side so she will feel safe inside. They like to give birth in small caves or burrows they excavate."

My father turned to me. "You get the blankets and I'll get a box."

The next hour was spent getting a nice birthing area set up for my wife's very pregnant and highly irritable pet. I was surprised that I didn't get bit once, but that wasn't for the lack of trying. She snapped at me twice, but luckily my Jedi reflexes saved me.

The last time she lunged at me my dad chuckled and then bravely reached out and patted the top of Princess' head. "She really doesn't like you, does she?"

"Gee, Dad, what gave you that idea?" I held up my arm where the faint scars from her last attack can still be seen. "She's a Force-hunting predator and I am her favorite prey."

My father scoffed. "She doesn't like you because you don't like her. Animals can sense these things."

"Well, it's not going to change anytime soon." I finished setting up the box and blankets and allowed Zylie to move the psychotic animal into her new birthing quarters. "When she starts acting a little nicer to me," I said to my dad. "Maybe my attitude will change."

I left Zylie to baby her pet vornskr. I can tell you now, I am _**not**_ looking forward to having a cargo bay fully of baby vornskrs.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Entry 35**_

I thought once a vornskr went into labor the babies would pop out within minutes, but eighteen hours later we were still waiting. Zylie said the longest she has ever waited was twenty-two hours, but she has heard of vornskrs going two or three days from the start of labor until delivery. So now I am stuck on a ship waiting for Princess to push out a half dozen or so Jedi-hating baby vornskrs. That's just great. The Skywalkers invited us to having dinner with them. Dad went, but we had to decline because there was no way Zylie would leave Princess while she was so near to giving birth.

It wasn't until after dinnertime that Zylie ran from the cargo bay all excited. "She had her babies! She has seven pups. It's the largest litter I've seen."

"Oh wonderful," I said with mock enthusiasm.

I guess my sarcasm wasn't lost on Zylie because she frowned and lightly smacked me on the shoulder. "Knock it off." She then grabbed my hand and dragged me into the cargo area. "Come on and see them. They have really pretty markings."

As soon as I got about three meters from Princess she started growling. I stopped and shook my head. "She's not going to let me get near her babies, Zylie."

She gave my arm a tug. "Yes she will, if I'm with you. You don't have to get too close to see them."

I made a very vocal sigh before slowly approaching the beast. There, suckling on Princess' teats was a mass of squirming fur with pink whip like tails. They were pushing each other and fighting for position all the while squeaking like baby pittins. I have to admit, they are cute…when they're young.

Most were dark brown, but a couple had light reddish stripes giving them the look of a Ralitir tiger. I noticed one tiger-striped pup was much smaller than the others and was having a hard time finding a teat. I pointed to the runt. "That guy is struggling to get food."

Zylie looked at the animal sadly. "He's unfortunate to be the runt in a litter of seven when a vornskr only has six teats. He probably won't survive."

I looked at her incredulously. "When the others are done eating, can't he eat?"

She shook her head. "Vornskr mothers are strange. They often will push away the runt and let him die. It is believed it is a survival mechanism. Her body can barely nourish six pups, the seventh or eighth could jeopardize the entire litter. Sorry, but that little guy probably won't make it."

I went slack jawed at that comment. Zylie has such a soft spot for these creatures but she seems perfectly content to let one of the babies die. "Can't you hand feed him?"

She shook her head. "My father and I had tried with some of his vornskr litters, but the rejected pups don't thrive. It just prolongs the inevitable."

I looked down at the tiny mewing pub desperately trying to squeeze in past his or her siblings to get nourishment, but his brothers and sisters pushed him away with their paws.

"Zylie, I can't believe you are going to just watch him die because you couldn't help a few pups in the past."

She put her hands on her hips and glowered at me. "Talon, it's not just that I couldn't do it. _Nobody_ has ever done it. Believe me, I researched this. It has never been successfully achieved."

I shook my head. "How many documented cases of vornskr hand feedings can there be? They are not a common species. There has to be something that hasn't been tried."

"True, but if it hasn't been tried it is because nobody has thought of it yet." She leaned into me and put her head on my shoulder. "Talon, it's sweet that you want to help, but I don't want you to be disappointed."

"This just doesn't seem right…you know, letting him starve to death." I turned to Zylie. "I'd like to try helping the little guy. Maybe I can use the Force to help me do it. At least we'd know we tried."

A wide smiled crossed Zylie's face and I was fairly sure she was getting all misty eyed. "Talon, I knew you had a soft spot for Vornskrs. I'll go into town later and get the ingredients to make the milk formula." She stood on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. "You're so sweet."

"Yeah, I know." Damn it! Why do vornskr pups have to look _so_ cute? "But as soon as this guy is strong enough to feed himself he is out of here along with his brothers and sisters," I said adamantly. "One vornskr is enough. In fact, it's one too many on this ship."


	27. Chapter 27

_**Entry 36**_

The next day Zylie purchased the ingredients to make Vornskr milk substitute: evaporated blue milk, a carton of egg yokes, salad oil, and honey.

I grinned at her. "Is this for the pup or did you decided to start cooking me breakfast?"

"Only if you want to be fed substitute mother's milk." She smiled at me brightly. "Vornskr milk is high in fat, protein and natural sugars." She gave me her _'I know what I am doing'_ look and began mixing ingredients. When she was done she pulled out a package that said 'Pet Nursing Kit'. "These are for pittins, but they should work for the pup until he gets bigger and then I guess we can use a human baby bottle. I'm not sure if it will work though, since I never had an abandoned baby vornskr last more than a week." Her expression saddened as she filled up the bottle. "Talon, don't get your hopes up. I think it's wonderful that you want to save the pup, but realize…" She trailed off not wanting to make the news grimmer than it already was. "Just don't get too attached."

She screwed the top onto the bottle and moved toward the cargo area. "Come on, I'll get the runt from Princess."

"Okay." I stood at the doorway of the cargo area while Zylie walked toward her vornskr, but stopped and then turned around. "I'll be back. I forgot something." She gave me a warning glare. "Don't try to get him on your own unless you want Princess having a Jedi snack."

"Yeah, I know. Princess and I are never going to be buddies."

Zylie left me in the cargo area alone with my arch enemy vornskr. I was across the cargo bay from the beast, but she raised her head, bared her teeth and growled at me.

I wagged my finger at her. "Don't get started with me, Princess. I'm not the one abandoning my own flesh and blood because he is too small." I crossed my arms across my chest and was waiting for my wife to return when I heard a soft mewing noise coming from the corner of the cargo bay. Keeping my eye on Princess I moved in the direction of the pitiful mournful cry. In a dark corner, I could hear moment coming from between a couple cargo boxes. I reached to my belt and pulled out my glowrod and activated it. There, shivering on the floor was the little runt. He was trembling so badly that he looked like he was near death. I turned around and glared at Princess. "You are a very bad mother!" I returned my attention to the little pup, stretching my arm down in between the cargo containers until I could feel the pup's soft fur between my fingers. As I grasped the little guy around his torso I felt a sharp pain in my hand followed by a burning sensation.

"ARRRGGGGGHHHH!"

I pulled my hand out and discovered the runt had whipped his barbed tail around in a defensive manner and buried his stinger in the webbed skin between my thumb and index finger. The pup was still attached to my hand, hanging by his tail, and squealing hysterically. My first instinct was to shake my hand to dislodge the barb, but realized that might kill the animal. I instead reached up with my uninjured hand and grabbed the pub so he didn't get his tail pulled off during my struggle to dislodge him from my flesh. "Zylie!"

Zylie rushed into the cargo hold with a feeding bottle in one hand and a pair of leather gloves in the other. "Talon, you need leather gloves when picking up the un-bobbed pups."

"Now you tell me," I said through gritted teeth. "Crap this hurts. Get him off me!"

Zylie quickly interceded and grabbed the little guy under his belly with one hand and grasping the end of his tail between the thumb and finger of her other.

She grimaced. "Do you want me to pull it out or 2-1B?"

"Get it out!"

"Okay, on three. One…" She never got to three but yanked the barb out immediately.

"Owww!" I pinched the punctured skin in an attempt to quell the bleeding. "Damn! I forgot those things have barbed tails."

An apologetic smile crossed my wife's face. "That's why we bob their tails when they are little. It makes them safer to be around and it dampens down their aggression." She looked at my hand. "How does it feel?"

I blew out a breath as I started to feel a little lightheaded. "I guess all this excitement has me feeling a little faint."

Zylie grimaced. "That might be the poison working."

"Poison! Oh, no, that's right." I don't know how I forgot about the barbed tails _and_ that their stinger was poisonous. "Well, I guess it is good that he's a baby. Probably not much poison in him."

Zylie made a face. "Umm…not really. The venom of baby vornskr is much more concentrated than the adults."

I looked at Zylie wide-eyed as my arm began to tingle and then eventually went numb. "Get 2-1B to give me the anti-venom."

Zylie shook her head. "There's no antidote. You'll just have to ride it out."

"Ride it out! Is this going to kill me?"

She rolled her eyes as she guided me to the ship's infirmary. "Do you really think I would look this calm if I thought I was about to become a widow? The venom is paralytic, but don't worry it won't affect your heart. Your voluntary muscles will get weak. You'll be wobbly on your feet for a few hours." She turned and gave me a contrite look. "Oh, you may not want to get far from the 'fresher. It can cause loss of bowel control."

"What!" I pointed to the vornskr pup Zylie held. "I am reconsidering feeding you." I would have said more but I had to get to the 'fresher before I lost all muscle control. "I'm naming him Kriffer!" I yelled back to my wife as I disappeared into the 'fresher.

* * *

 _ **Entry 37**_

I stayed in the 'fresher for about an hour. Eventually the feeling in my arm and hand returned and I no longer experienced an urgent need to sit on the toilet.

I exited the 'fresher to find my wife in the galley trying to feed the pup. The little vornskr was lying on a small hand towel on the dining table as Zylie sat in front of him trying to get him to take the bottle. I did notice the creature no longer had a tail. "You did surgery on him?"

"No, not surgery. I just clipped it off with some scissors."

My face contorted in disbelief. "Owww! The poor little guy."

Zylie chuckled. "You mean Kriffer. You know, the animal that punctured your skin and injected venom? Do you mean that poor little guy?"

I frowned. "You didn't need to hurt him. He was just acting on instinct."

Zylie sighed. "Talon, my father has been raising these animals all my life. The nerves in the tail aren't fully formed until a few weeks after birth. He didn't even make a squeak."

I let out a relieved breath. "Good."

Zylie smiled. "I knew vornskrs would grow on you. They are _so_ cute when they are little."

I begrudgingly had to admit that was true. "Vornskrs aren't growing on me. It's just…he's a baby and a runt. It doesn't seem right to let him die without trying to help him."

"I think that is sweet, Talon." She stood and held out the bottle to me. "Maybe you'll have better luck with him."

I took the bottle and slid into the seat in front of the baby. I tried to guide the bottle's nipple into his mouth but he kept turning his head away. After about ten minutes of trying I decided to take a break. I found a small box and put in a few hand towels for the pup to sleep on and put it on the floor of my cabin.

I looked at my wounded hand and shook my head. The only good thing was my father, Ben and Valla were not here to watch my misadventure. I would never hear the end of it if they did.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Entry 38**_

My father and the Indupar envoys are still negotiating with the Chief-of-State. Dad said Streke is trying to gain control of the crystals for next to nothing by offering Indupar protection from foreign invaders such as the Nagi. My father said he pointed out that they had no difficulty destroying the Nagi fleet and the boy King himself killed the enemy's general.

"I told him he could think about the deal we proposed and I would get back to him after my travels to Hapes and then Bastille." My father chuckled. "You should have seen him. His face turned bright red and he said, ' _Are you threatening to sell the crystals to the Hapan government or the Empire!'_ " My father grinned widely as he told his tale. "I told him I was planning to do no such thing. I simply want to visit my family. I reminded him my nephew is the Hapan Queen's Consort and my niece is the Empress of the Imperial Remnant."

"I'm sure that really eased his concerns," I said sarcastically as my dad and I walked.

I met my dad for lunch and afterwards we decided to stroll through _'Heroes Park'_ a newly established outdoor shrine to honor the heroes of the Rebellion and subsequent conflicts. Dad wanted to see the Luke Skywalker statue that was erected. We've seen holos of the sculpture, but were told it is more impressive in person. My dad pointed to the towering granite statue at the center of the park. "There it is."

I have to admit, it looks impressive. It had Uncle Luke in his Rebel flight uniform and holding an activated lightsaber. It was supposedly represented his actions on Hoth after his T-47 Airspeeder was shot down by Imperials and he attacked an Imperial Walker armed only with his lightsaber and blaster. The statue symbolized not only a Jedi, but a pilot and soldier.

My father gazed at the statue for a long moment before smiling widely. "Luke must hate this thing."

"Why?" I asked. "It looks good."

My dad gave me a knowing look. "Because he's modest…and you know Mara has to tease him about the accompanying plaque."

I glanced over to the plaque and grinned at the flowery praise. "Wow, that is an impressive write up." I looked back to the statue. "Why did Streke approve such a Jedi-loving monument to be erected?"

My dad shrugged. "You really can't have a Heroes Park honoring those who served in the Rebellion and omit Luke Skywalker, the man who blew up the Death Star."

"That's true." We followed the walkway to a long granite wall engraved with the names of military units that served in the conflict and the men and women who exhibited exemplary service. We saw a lot of familiar names: Dodonna, Madine, Antilles, and Darklighter, to name a few.

When we got to The Battle of Byss I fully expected to see my father's name there or at least Talon Karrde's, after all, they killed the Emperor Reborn, but only Luke and Uncle Han were credited in the infiltration of Byss' capital city and the Emperor's Citadel. "You name should be on this plaque, dad."

He shook his head. "When it happened Karrde asked that his entire crew remain anonymous. He didn't want to irritate the Imperials just in case he needed to do cargo runs in their territory. It's better this way." He gave me a smile. "I wouldn't want Luke's life of celebrity."

I sighed deeply. "You're probably right. I just don't think it is right that people in the future will never know what really happened."

My father reached over and put a hand on my shoulder. "You are still journaling, right? If you make sure my grandchildren know the truth that would make me a happy man. I can care less if the galaxy forgot I existed…as long as I am remembered by my family."

I nodded with a smile. "I'll make sure they'll remember."

We continued along the ' _Tour of heroes'_. Along the way my father would point out what secret conflicts were omitted. "They didn't mention the battle against the Vong." He chuckled. "I guess secretly destroying most of an entire invading species wouldn't be good publicity."

"Most? I remember you mentioning the invading Vong years ago, but I thought they were all destroyed by the Galaxy gun."

"I did mistakenly tell you that." He moved down to the next plague honoring the heroes that suppressed the Korfian Revolt. From what I remember from my history studies, it was an anti-New Republic uprising on the Planet Ithor that was thoroughly squashed by a regiment of NR military.

"I thought all the Vong were dead," my father continued. "But when I was on my secret little jaunt with Deke I discovered there were prisoners taken and they were given a place to live in the Maw."

"I guess they are in the Maw so the galaxy never discovers their existence?"

My dad nodded. "I don't see Mara anywhere in this park. She worked for the New Republic and fought against Joruus C'boath." He turned toward the imposing Skywalker statue at the center of the park. "Mara should have a statue there, next to Luke's. It should say, 'Mara Jade Skywalker—the woman who saved Luke Skywalker's butt multiple times." He turned back to the various statues and plagues. "I think its sexism."

I rolled my eyes. I really didn't want to get into this argument with my father again. He never liked the fact that the Imperial military and many military organizations within the New Republic and Galactic Alliance bar women from serving in frontline combat positions. It is much better now, but to date females are not allowed into Void Jumper units. My dad thinks it is an archaic belief and government approved sexism. I agree with him, but he can go on and on about what should be done. I decided to change the subject. "Dad, I have a question about our trip to Hapes and Bastion."

"What?"

"Are we really going there to visit family? Or are you actually trying to convince Streke that you are looking for different buyers?" I stopped and thought about what I just said. "Dad, is Marcus considering selling to somebody other than the Galactic Alliance?"

My dad's gave me a disarming grin. "No. We are going to sell the crystals to the Alliance, but we just want the best deal possible. I do have to admit visiting the family at this time does have the added bonus of putting a sense of urgency into Streke and some worry about my intentions. It's just a big political game of sabbac." He looked at his wristchrono. "I have to get back to the negotiations and don't you have some Vornskr feeding to do?"

I slipped my injured hand into my pocket, hoping my dad didn't see the bacta patch on it. I told dad we were trying to feed the runt, but I made sure not to tell him about my injury. Dad may be able to keep secrets, but he doesn't seem to be so inclined when divulging a secret could embarrass me.

"Yeah, I better get back." I gave my father a hug. "Give Streke hell, dad."

"You know I will."

 _ **Entry 39**_

This is day two of trying to bottle feed the runt and I am failing miserably. Half the time he is nipping at my fingertips. I am beginning to think that my blood is the only nourishment the pup is getting. Zylie put him with his mother but as soon as he finds a teat he is pushed away by his siblings. Zylie then tried to take the other pups away from their mother so the runt could nurse in peace, but Princess would have none of that. She got up and just paced around the cargo area looking for her other pups, leaving the runt shivering.

I picked up the pup and turned to Zylie. "Why is the pup shaking so much? Is he scared?"

She looked up to me sadly as we left the cargo area and entered our cabin. "Pups get most of their body heat from their mother. He's not old enough to self-regulate his body temperature. "

I looked at the tiny shivering pup and frowned. "Do we have a heating pad or something to warm him?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Maybe I can put some towels in the drier to warm them up. It probably won't be enough though." She put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Talon. I know you want to save him."

"Thanks." I sighed heavily. "I don't want to give up on him."

She grinned impishly. "You're taken by this little guy, aren't you?"

I didn't want to admit I had any affection for the species, but his pup was different. "Zylie, look at him. He fits in my palm, he has a slight stripped pattern and look at those pretty pink eyes…unlike those evil red demon eyes Princess has."

Zylie gave a chuckle. "All pups have pinkish or blue eyes when they are born because they are still developing eye pigment. In a few months this pup will have blood red eyes."

"Oh." I held the little guy against my tunic to warm him up. "Can you get those towels? He is really trembling."

"Sure."

When Zylie left the room I got an idea. I put the pup on my bed and stripped out of my tunic. I then laid down in the bed and placed him on my bare chest as I brought my hands up to pet him. To my surprise the little guy stopped shaking so much and actually seemed less stressed. He moved around on my chest until he got to the small patch of chest hair growing between my pectoral muscles.

The baby vornskr was rubbing his head on the patch of hair and then started what I would call ' _pittin pushups'_. That is where a pittin will push his paws against your skin in a rhythmic motion. Seeing him so relaxed was encouraging. I stretched out with the Force and sent him soothing thoughts as I brought the bottle up to his mouth. I suppressed a shout of triumph when he finally took the bottle and sucked on it greedily. He kept drinking until Zylie came into the room and startled him. He pulled away from the bottle as his fur raised up on the back of his neck. "It's okay little guy," I said as I pet him on the head and turned to Zylie with a big scat-eating grin on my face. "Look who got a vornskr to bottle feed." I held up the bottle to prove to her he drank half the milk. "I told you I could do it."

I relished in my victory for about five more seconds before that little kriff'n vornskr decided to feed again and since the bottle was out of his reach he latched onto the only other thing that looked like it would provide nourishment. I screamed as the pup's razor-sharp teeth bit into the most sensitive area of my chest.

"Oh frak'n kriff!" I sat up only to realize that runt was still firmly attached to my chest.

Zylie ran up to me and grasped the little beast. "Lay down, Talon," she said in a tone of voice that I would best describe as amused panic. "I'll try to get him off you."

She grabbed the top of his skull and his lower jaw and tried to gently pry his jaws off. "Be careful! You're going to pull off part of my chest."

Zylie blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't want to break his jaw."

"Well I don't want him to bite off my man nipple." I yelled again as the pain increased. "Kriff! I think it's trying to chew it off!"

"Talon do that Force trick you used on Princess when she attacked you."

I nodded my head. "Good thinking." I placed my hand on the small pup and tried to project smoothing thoughts. "Go to sleep little guy. Please, please for the love of the Force, please go to sleep." I was relieved when his eyes closed and his jaw relaxed.

Zylie pulled the little guy off me and grimaced at the sight of blood. She turned away not wanting to look. "You better get 2-1B to patch you up."

I sat up and pressing my hand against my bleeding chest. "How bad is it? I don't want to look. You know I hate seeing my own blood."

"Go to the medical droid," Zylie insisted. The fact that she avoided answering the question made me really nervous.

"Just tell me if everything is there."

I saw her nod her head. "Everything is there, but just not where it should be."

I got out of bed and quickly moved to the infirmary. I know I am not a fan of droids, but I'm now really glad we have 2-1B.

Before I left the cabin I turned and grinned at Zylie. "I did get him to eat. So, it's not impossible."

She gave me a teasing smile. "Good for you, but the next time you decide to nurse a Vornskr maybe you should wear my bra."

 _ **Entry 40**_

Ha! I figured out how to hand feed that little kriffer! It involves, body heat, hair, a bottle and protective bacta patches over my nipples! I discovered if he was lying in my chest hair and I put the bottle in his mouth he would actually eat. All I have to do is prevent him from biting me in such a sensitive location. Bacta patches work. I tried high adhesive tape at first for my non-injured side of my chest but then discovered pulling it off hurt almost as bad as being bit. So bacta patches are on both sides now.

I did realize that I should lock the door when feeding my runt vornskr. Zylie walked in on me feeding him in this manner and just about died laughing. She nicked named me Mama Vornskr.

I gave her a forced smile. "You are just jealous that I am the first person who discovered how to hand feed these little monsters."

She sat down at the edge of the bed and gazed down at me lovingly. "You are so cute." She jumped up and rummaged though the bed nightstand before pulling out an imager. "I need to take a vid of this."

I put up my hand in an attempt to block the lens. "No Zylie. If Ben ever finds out about this or my little mishap earlier he'll never let me live it down."

She pouted a bit, but when I didn't cave, she put away the imager. "You're no fun."

"Just don't tell your sister or Ben what happened." I gazed at her beseechingly. "Please."

She leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "I promise. I won't tell anybody."

She moved across the room to the closet and started browsing through her outfits. "Ben called and said we're invited to dinner with the Skywalker's tonight. You may want to finish up your feeding with the runt because Ben is coming to the ship to pick up some clothing before returning to his parents' quarters. You don't want him to catch you in such a compromising position."

"Thanks for the warning." When Zylie left to shower I looked at the teeny vornskr on my chest eagerly sucking away on a milk bottle. He was making some strange rumbling sound interspersed with tiny mews. "You are a hungry little boy," I whispered to him. "Yes you are." I stopped and realized to my horror that I just talked to the vornskr in that insipid singsong voice people use when talking to their pet pittins. "Ack! I can't believe I just talked baby talk to a vornskr."

I guess Zylie is right. I am getting a soft spot for the little guy.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Entry 41**_

My father, Zylie and I went to the Skywalker's quarters at the temple for dinner tonight. Ben and Valla were already there, so it was a big family reunion of sorts.

It was an interesting meal.

We had our appetizers and then their protocol droid brought out dinner. It was a stuffed game hen with an assortment of side plates. It was delicious and I was having a great time until I realized my aunt kept looking over to me and suppressing a grin. Eventually I couldn't keep my curiosity in check. "What's so funny Aunt Mara?"

I could tell she was trying really hard to maintain her composure. "Nothing."

I took a sip of my drink waiting for her to finally admit that _nothing_ was really something. Unfortunately she fessed up when my mouth was full of fizzed berry juice. "I heard you got hurt breastfeeding a vornskr."

I choked on my drink forcing carbonated juice up and out my nose. I grabbed my napkin and wiped off my face before turning to glare at my wife. "You promised not to tell."

I could feel surprise rolling off of Zylie through the Force. "I didn't tell anyone, Talon."

"You are the only one that knew!" I shot back.

At this point Ben started laughing. "That's not exactly true."

"What do you mean?" I looked around the table and realized everybody was desperately trying to suppress laughter. "You all know!" I turned back to Ben. "Who told you guys?"

Ben grinned. "2-1B told me."

My jaw clenched as my dislike for droids was renewed. "Why would 2-1B volunteer up that information?"

Ben leaned back in his chair as a broad grin spit his face. "What happened was I went to the ship to pick up some dinner outfits for me and Valla and while there I used the 'fresher and noticed bloody bacta patches in the waste bin. I went over to the medical droid and asked him what had happened. That's when he told me about you getting speared by a baby vornskr tail and then how the runt bit off your nipple when you were trying to feed him."

At that point everybody at the table lost complete control and started laughing hysterically. My face turned bright red as I regarded my cousin. "That doesn't mean you have to tell everybody."

The obvious anger boiling up in me prompted Ben to try to explain his actions. He put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "I didn't tell everybody, just Valla...at least at first. When I got back to my parents' quarters she knew I was hiding something." He gave me a beseeching look. "You know you can't keep secrets from Karrde women." He blew out a nervous breath before he continued. "Anyway, I told Valla and that got her laughing so hysterically she had to run to the 'fresher before she peed her pants. Mom comes down the hall and hears Valla in the 'fresher gasping for breath because she is hyperventilating and mistakes it for vomiting. Because she can sense joyful hilarity coming from us through the force she assumes if you feel happy about vomiting it means Valla is pregnant. So she gets all giddy and that brings my father running and wondering what is going on. I had to explain to them that Valla was not pregnant." He took a deep breath before continuing. "This upset my parents and they looked depressed, so I wanted to cheer them up, so I told them what happened."

I looked over to my father who was biting his bottom lip in an attempt to not laugh. "So how did my father find out."

My dad chuckled. "I can explain that. You know I have a Force connection to Luke and Mara. Well, I was in negotiations with Streke when I felt a disturbance in the Force. I knew something was up with the Skywalkers, but I couldn't get ahold of them on the comlink. So I contacted your brother Jaden and ask him to go down the Skywalker's quarters and find out what was going on. Which he did and reported the situation back to me."

I stared at him wide-eyed and slack jawed. "Are you telling me my entire family knows I got bit by a vornskr pup?"

My father was shaking as he tried to suppress his amusement. "Pretty much."

"I'm glad you guys are having so much fun at my expense," I said bitingly. "As soon as he is weaned Kriffer is gone."

"Watch your language at the table," my aunt chastised me.

"That is the name Talon gave the pup," Zylie explained.

My uncle took a sip of his drink. "That's a horrible name."

Valla nodded in agreement. "We should find an appropriate name for the pup."

"How about The Nipple Slayer?" Ben suggested.

I shook my head in disgust. "Not funny, guys."

"No," my aunt interjected. "I say we go with the nipple terminator…wait, wait, I got it: the nipplator."

"Oh I got a better one," my father said enthusiastically. "Darth Nipple, dark ruler of the Areola."

I balled up my napkin and tossed it on the table as I stood. "Why do I always get the brunt of your teasing?"

Mara stood and motioned for me to sit. "Sorry Talon. You just make it so easy sometimes. We tease you because we love you. Don't you know that?"

My eyes narrowed. "You also tease about Mokk Streke. Does that mean you love him also?"

My aunt took her seat and gave a look of disgust. "I don't tease him to his face. So no. If I tease you to your face, then I like you. If I do it behind your back, I dislike you."

"You must really love Talon," Ben remarked with a chuckle.

I sat back down but continued to glower at my family. "Why don't we change the subject." I turned to Ben. "Hey, how is that grandkid making process going?"

Ben's eyes narrowed as his jaw tightened. "You know I hate it when you do that."

Mara wiped her lips with her napkin and gave her son a furtive look. "If you and Valla gave me a grandchild then he wouldn't be able to use that ploy." Mara turned to Mark. "When are you going to start nagging Talon to give you a grandchild?"

My father chuckled. "One's enough for now."

A spike of fear shot through my spine, thinking dad just revealed Marcus' existence, but then I realized he was talking about Jessa.

"Yes, you have your granddaughter," Mara agreed. "But don't you want a grandchild from Talon and Zylie?"

My dad turned to us. "Yes I would very much like a grandchild from you two."

"I think we discussed that subject enough," I muttered before addressing my father. "How much longer will discussions go with Streke?"

My dad gestured that he didn't know. "My role in the negotiations is over. I will let the delegation continue the talks until a resolution occurs. I made it quite clear that I was going to Hapes to see my nephew. I am sure Streke will see this as me going to negotiate with the Hapan government about the sale of the crystals. Maybe that false pretense will encourage him to make a decision."

"When do we leave?" Valla asked.

"As soon as you're ready."

I looked to my wife and then Ben and Valla. "I'm ready when you are."


	30. Chapter 30

_**ENTRY 42**_

We made planetfall on Hapes today. As we maneuvered the _Vazy Princess_ into the expansive palace docking bays we noticed the royal escort awaiting our arrival. I was impressed. Along with a small military escort, Tenel Ka sent two Hapan Knights to greet us. They didn't wear the standard Jedi Knight robes, but instead wore upper body armor similar to that of the Imperial Knights along with a lightsaber and a dangerous looking blaster on their leather belts. Over their highly polished black leather knee high boots they wore dark blue trousers with gold piping down the side.

As we exited our ship I began to feel a bit underdressed in my standard Jedi robes, especially next to my dad who was all decked out in his Indupar dress uniform. Ben was also in his robes and the ladies decided to wear what I considered business power suits. It was not quite formal wear but consisted of a delightfully formfitting dress under a blazer. Female politicians often seen wear this type of clothing style.

As we approached the military contingent an indoor passenger transport pulled up and a large man in uniform jumped out. I recognized him as my father's friend Deke Tavik. He walked up to my father laughing. "It looks like you lost some sort of bet." He pointed to my father's pompous outfit while grinning ear-to-ear. "Does your king have a grudge against you or does Kira dress you up like that so no other woman will look at you?"

My father's jaw tightened as his face darkened with irritation. "Now I remember why I don't visit you often."

Deke laughed and gave my father a one armed hug. "Damn, I missed making fun of you." Deke stepped back and looked my dad over. "Where's the sniper blaster rifle? You brought it, didn't you?"

"Yes." My father looked back to where I was standing. "Bring it, Talon." I moved forward carrying the weapon case.

Deke grinned. "Nice." He took it from my hand and motioned us to follow him. "The Queen and her consort are entertaining some political leaders for the next hour. I'm to keep you occupied until they're done." He opened the door to the small speeder for the women to enter. "It's nice to see you two lovely ladies again. I was a guest at your wedding." A frown touched his lips. "You probably don't remember me since I was on official guard duty and banned from drinking or having any fun."

Zylie smiled. "I remember you."

His smile widened. "You do?"

"Yes," Zylie continued. "I think you spent most of your time harassing my father-in-law, Mark."

Deke gave a mock pout. "Ah, and I thought it was my classical good looks that sparked your memory."

My dad gave him a light smack on the shoulder before squeezing into the front passenger seat. "Knock it off or I'll tell your wife you were flirting with other women."

Ben and I hopped into the rear seats of the transporter a nanosecond before Deke hit the accelerator and propelled us down the wide palace corridors at what I considered an unsafe speed. He turned to my father while motioning forward. "Let's go to my office. I want to show you the Intel I have in exchange for the blaster."

My father folded his arms across his chest and glared at his friend. "It better be worth it."

Deke shrugged. "I think you will find it interesting. It is remarkable enough that I haven't shown anybody it yet. I figured once I showed it to my Queen she'd tell Jacen who would let the Jedi know…and then I couldn't trade the information for a sweet blaster rifle."

My father chuckled. "You do realize you just told me that eventually the Jedi will have this information. So there is no reason to give up one of my prized possessions. I just have to be patient."

Deke grimaced. "Damn!" He gave my father a sideways glance. "You've gotten smarter in your old age."

This conversation peaked my curiosity. What important intelligence could dad's friend have that he wouldn't immediately bring to his Queen? He would have to know holding on to crucial information might be grounds for job termination. Unless it wasn't vital information for the Hapan government and more of interest to my father…perhaps it was about Indupar.

After a few minutes we pulled up to an office with the name of my father's friend engraved onto the door. He motioned us inside, holding the door for the women, and led us to a room with a large holoprojector. My father looked back to the rest of us before turning to Deke. "Can they see the information?"

Deke looked us over. "Sure, why not. I was only keeping it secret so I can offer you a trade." He hefted the blaster case onto his desk and opened it. He made a low whistle as he ran his fingers over the ancient blaster. "Oh this is beautiful." He went to pick it up out of the case but my father put a hand out preventing him from doing so. "You haven't convinced me that you have any information worthy of exchange. Let's see it."

Deke grimaced but then shrugged and picked up his holoprojector remote. He activated the machine to let it warm up. "My spies snatched this information from a Galactic Alliance operative. I assume it was going to your Chief-of-State or some other high official."

"Wait," Ben interjected. "Tenel Ka spies on the Galactic Alliance."

Deke gave us an amused expression. "Yes, but this was obtained from my private operatives."

"You, personally, spy on the GA?" I asked.

He chuckled and looked at my father. "I hope you are no longer as naïve as the Jedi."

My father shook his head. "No, I think I working for royalty has purged that from my system." He pointed to the projector. "Play it."

Deke started the projector and a fuzzy image formed above its base. Eventually I recognized the familiar armor of Void jumpers dropping from jump ships, their movements awkward and untrained. I couldn't see any brigade or company designation but if I had to bet, I would guess this was a training unit. My suspicion was verified as an armored trooper wearing an noncommissioned officer insignia ran up to ill performing troopers and started an animated conversation with them. There was no audio to the holo, and couldn't read their lips because of their full-face helmets, but it was obvious that these men were getting scolded by their superior. The NCO was waving his arms while motioning from the hovering jump platform and to the ground. He then went into a proper landing position before standing up and motioning to a trainee. The enlisted man copied the position demonstrated while the sergeant walked around the trainee, analyzing his positioning before motioning the man to rise. At this point Deke paused the video. "Mark, Talon, do you notice anything odd with the jump suit?"

My dad and I moved in closer for a better look. "Not much."

"The armor is a little different in color," I offered.

Deke grinned wildly. "You are right, young Jedi." He looked to my dad. "Have any guesses as to what it is made of?"

My father shrugged his shoulders showing disinterest. "No and I don't think any of this is worth my blaster." He closed up the blaster case and motioned for us to follow him.

"Wait, you'll want to see this."

My father stopped, his shoulder's drooping a little. I think he may have changed his mind over this exchange and wanted to get out before Deke proved the information worthy. He turned and frowned at his friend. "What?"

Deke turned the holo back on. The instructor stood back and allowed another fully armored Void Jumper to walk up to the trainee. The large man had no ranking painted on his armor, but he did have something that caught my eye…a lightsaber. The trainee popped to attention as the newcomer activated an amber bladed lightsaber and positioned himself in front of the trainee. I thought I was about to witness the ultimate punishment. Was a Jedi going to kill a trainee for not performing to standard? I gasped as the man brought the lightsaber back and swung it at the trainee's midsection. Void Jumper armor is only slightly resistant to lightsabers. If you push hard enough, it can go through the armor. I proved that when I had to amputate my father's leg when he was bleeding out in his combat armor. When the blade made contact, I fully expected the trooper to be cut in two, but the blade shimmered and shorted out against the silvery armor.

"What the…" Ben said slackjawed.

Deke grinned furiously as he moved to take the blaster from my father's grip. "Come on, don't tell me that doesn't interest you."

My father didn't look impressed. "So? The void jumpers have new lightsaber resistant armor."

Deke was disappointed by my father's nonchalant reaction. "Okay, just give it a moment."

The unknown man with the lightsaber deactivated the weapon and inspected the armor. He then gave the trainee a pat on his shoulder. He stepped back and motioned to the solider who then reached up and detached and removed his the armor was a species of near human that I have never seen before. His head was gruesome, with pale skin pulled taunt over its skull with no fat or cartilage to pad it. On the skeletal face were various tattoos and what looked like piercings around the man's narrow lips."

"What is that?" Zylie's shocked voice called out from behind me.

"That," Deke said with a grin. "Is what we call the Vong."

I looked over to my father. "Isn't that the species that the New Republic eradicated with the Galaxy Gun?"

"Almost eradicated," Deke pointed out. "There was a group of slaves called the _Shamed Ones_ who surrendered and survived. The New Republic leadership shipped them out to the Maw to live." He turned to my father and grinned. "Now they are training in lightsaber resistant armor. Don't you think that is worth the price of admission?"

"So what?"

Deke started cracking up. "You are so full of it. You mean you are not one bit concerned that an alien species that is completely immune to the effects of the Force is now being trained in armor that is immune to lightsabers." He turned back to the holoprojector. "I think your Chief-of-State is building a Jedi-killing army of void jumpers."

My father looked irritated as he shoved the blaster case into Deke's arms. "Fine, you win."

Ben analyzed the image above the holoprojector. "You said you didn't know where this information was being sent. Could somebody else other than the Chief-of-State be setting up this army?"

Deke shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine." He turned off the holoprojector and removed the information disk that he tossed to my father. "Here you go. Do with the information as you wish. I will be giving a copy to the Queen shortly."

My father bounced the chip in his palm for a moment before he handed it over to Ben. "The Grand Master may want to see this." He gazed at Ben intensely. "Perhaps it is time for the Jedi to get off Coruscant."

* * *

 _ **Entry 43**_

Ben and I are flying our StealthX fighters back to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple. We did spend a short amount of time with Tenel Ka and Jacen before we left. They were just as concerned about the holovid of the lightsaber resistant armor and alien Void Jumpers. The Queen was a little irritated that Deke Tavik never told her about the Vong. The commander of her personal guard simply said, "You never asked me if I ever fought butt-ugly invaders from another galaxy that are immune to the Force."

I can't believe Deke isn't in a dungeon somewhere. He probably would be, but my father saved his hide. "Your Majesty. The mission was secret. Its security rating wasn't downgraded to _Classified_ until recently."

Ben quickly ended our little family reunion and decided we need to get the information to his father immediately. Dad is going to stay on Hapes for a while longer and then he is scheduled to visit Bastion. Marcus commissioned the Karrde Corporation to haul my father around the galaxy, so we will leave the ladies to finish this cargo run without us.

I was worried about the runt Vornskr, but my father said he would feed the little monster. I made sure he could actually do it before I left. The pup warmed up to my father right away. That was a relief.

This year is turning out so strange. My son's kingdom was attacked and the Jedi might be the target of the Chief-of-State and whomever he is working for.

This is a worrisome turn of events. I hope the remainder of the year is less stressful.

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[To be continued in next Dear Diary Challenge titled: The Journal of Talon Tantiss: Secrets Revealed (Part 4)]


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